Intuitive
by QuickWren
Summary: WARNING: HTTYD2 SPOILERS Valka comes home but barely knows where she belongs. Sometimes, all you need's a little family. Literally. Even something as small as a baby can cause some big changes- with everything going on, Valka will be sure to discover her role. READ, REVIEW, AND FAVORITE! COMPLETE! :)
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: HTTYD2 SPOILERS!**

The damage caused by the Great Bewilderbeast's attack had been extensive and encompassing. All across Burk, families were lucky if they could manage to find even a wall of their manors' still left standing.

Everyone had lost something in this battle. But no one had lost as much as her and her son.

With so much work to be done, Valka knew it was only right for her to chip in and help, despite the grief she still felt at the death of her husband. And as the ice was cleared from the wreckage of Burk, so too was the bitter coldness in her heart. It was good that she had something to work on. She felt better when she was distracted.

With gloved hands and a clouded mind, she poured all her focus into pulling a splintering pile of wood from the marshy ground. Beside Valka was her steadfast friend and ally, Gobber. His interchangeable hand was currently fastened as a hook, and with it he jabbed and lifted at the remains of the shattered building before them.

They worked in comfortable silence until Gobber suddenly stretched a robust arm upward and yawned. "How ar' ye holding up, Valka?" When she started out of her focus with wide eyes, Gobber pressed his lips together and added, "Surely ye must be gettin' hungry? I feel like I could eat a whole Nightmare!"

This coxed a weary laugh from the women, and with a smile in her eyes, she replied, "Aye, I'm sure ye would, if ya could catch one!"

And so they headed to the make-shift dining hall for a warm meal.

As they trotted down the worn, fractured path towards the smell of food, they heard a shout from beside them. Two men were wrestling in the remains of a shattered home, a shiny brass shield held between one man's arms. The man on top, a large, dark haired fellow, swung hard at the shorter and rounder man's bald head. "Gimme back tha shield, you DungSkulled SheepKisser!" "Who are you calling a SheepKisser, you weak minded BumLicker!?" "You, ye SheepKisser!"

Gobber took a step forward with a fierce shout bubbling in his throat, but Valka placed a hand on his shoulder and motioned for him to stop. She was the former chief's wife and the current chief's mother. It was her place to stop this.

Wasn't it?

She took two steps towards the men but stopped cold as a young girl swooped passed on a Nadder, dismounting mid-flight with an arial twist, to land on the larger man's chest, promptly knocking him to the ground.

"Just what do you think you two are doing? Fighting over a stupid shield when there are families without homes- children sleeping outside in the cold?!" Blonde hair swooped in front of one of the girl's angry eyes, and though she was thin, the kick she delivered to the smaller, rounder man's gut effectively knocked him out of air. "I ought to break your knees and leaving you to the Terrors for this!"

Valka found herself dumbstruck. "Gobber, who is that?"

This question did not seem to sit well with her friend, because Gobber's stuttering response was, "Wh-what? Ye don't know Astrid?"

"Astrid," Valka muttered to herself. With a raised eyebrow, she asked, "No, I don't know her. Should I?"

"Aye, probably, seeing as how she's ta marry yer son."

"What? Ta marry him? Since when?"

Gobber laughed, seemingly finding some pleasure in Valka's confusion. "Why, since he asked her to marry him a few months ago." When a strange look of hurt twisted on her face, Gobber's laughing subsided, and he added, "It was before you were back with us, Valka. No need to look so sad."

The women simply shook her head. "There's been so much that I 'ave missed."

And then she walk away.

Later that night, when the sun had set and the stars were dancing in the night sky, Valka returned home- their house was one of the few that had remained standing. There were several families taking shelter in the extra bedrooms that the chief's house provided, and she and Hiccup had even donated their rooms to others more in need. So she was hardly surprised to see her son was slumped into some papers at the dining hall's table, sound asleep, rather than tucked into his warm bed. He had taken to his new role with the pride and responsibility that everyone but himself had known he had. But even a chief had to sleep sometimes.

She was surprised, however, to see that Toothless was not with him. She may have only known the dragon for a short while, but she considered him a son as well, and knew him well enough to know that he did not like to leave his best friend and rider alone without good cause.

So she backtracked a few steps, and using her years of experience and wisdom, she tracked him down.

It was especially easy since Toothless could not fly alone- she followed his footprints.

"Toothless, what's the matter with you, you silly boy?" She heard a girlish voice chime in gently as she grew nearer to the dragon. As she got closer to them, she saw the Night Fury nuzzle the tiny blonde from before -Astrid?- in a protectively caring way. Valka smiled lightly at the sight, as her future daughter scratched lovingly at the dragon's neck. "You're acting awfully protective today," the girl added, a smile on her lips.

Toothless just hummed and, using his tail as a guide, prompted for her to go inside her home. While the ground beneath the two was jagged and damaged, Valka doubted the agile young Viking needed help getting up the hill to her house. Astrid rolled her eyes but none-the-less used the tail as a handrail. "I can walk on my own, thank you very much." Her words were sarcastic but her tone was kind. As she made her way towards her house, Toothless carefully watched her steps until she was safe on the flat footing of her home. "Goodnight, Toothless." The dragon gurgled happily in response, then turned towards Valka, making eye contact with the women knowingly, before trotting towards her. Astrid followed his gaze, and when her eyes met Valka's, she jumped slightly in surprise before shooting a hand up into a nervous wave. Valka smiled back sweetly and nodded- she'd already decided she liked the girl- and placed a hand on her son's dragon's head before turning to walk away.

She heard the girl's door shut as they began to leave, and Valka chuckled at the dragon before muttering softly, "Ye know something that even they don't know, don'tcha Toothless?" The dragon just smiled back in response. It hardly surprised her- dragons were very intuitive creatures.

While she may have lost a husband, she had gained a daughter. And this was the first real thing that had managed to dull the pain.

Yes, she's have to get to know this girl better. But first she'd have to convince her son to move faster with the wedding.

After all, it'd be a shame if the baby was born before they were wed.


	2. Chapter 2

**SOOOOO There was an overwhelming request that I change this oneshot into a full length story. Which I had not been anticipating. But I'm very happy that everyone liked it so much! So READ, REVIEW AND FOLLOW! And let me know what you think, and what you want to happen! I don't have a set plan for this fic, so if I like your idea enough, I might just use it ;)**

The next morning, Valka found herself in the dining hall, eating a small loaf of bread and a fish for an early morning meal.

She hadn't had a chance to address her son or his to-be-wife. She told herself that it was because Hiccup was resting. The boy hardly ever got any sleep these days. The past two weeks since his father's death had been particularly hard on him.

But she knew inside that she kept quiet more for herself, out of fear. She did not know Astrid- had only learned her name yesterday. And while she loved Hiccup with her whole soul, she'd only really just met him too. What right did she have to just step into their lives and throw such a curveball? What if they didn't want a baby? Or what if she was wrong to think they were even having one?

Her appetite was diminishing, and she looked at the remainder of her food distastefully. She found herself frequently less hungry these days. Stress had a way of filling your stomach with rocks.

By the Gods, why hadn't she just stayed with the dragons? Dragons were simple to understand! Their hierarchy was plainly established. By their rights, she was the retired queen, free to enjoy her remaining years in a peacekeeper, as an overall matron.

But with human? She hardly understood what her role was to her son, much less the whole village. And while everyone had been overjoyed to have her back, some still jumped at the sound of her voice, like she was a spirit back from the grave. Since when had these people been afraid of her?

She was startled from her thoughts as the doors to the mesh hall came crashing open, a bloodied man with a cracked arm searching the room frantically. He stumbled in, his large frame busting into a nearby table, and used his untwisted arm to steady himself. He searched the room again, and when he spotted her, he took off running in Valka's direction.

And then continued to run straight passed her.

"Assstrid," the man's slurred tone echoed through the now quiet hall. "There's beeeeeen an acccident. Come quick."

It was strange that Valka had not even noticed the tiny girl two tables from her. She was normally so perceptive but when she'd been so lost in her thoughts, it seemed as though the whole world had stopped.

"Okay Tauntron, I need you to calm down. You're injured, and need to see the healer. Where was this accident? Is anyone else hurt?" It was so surreal for Valka to watch as this small child stepped gracefully into the only role that the former chief's wife had ever known. Clearheaded and undoubtably in charge, the girl pointed to two random men and ordered them to bring the injured Tauntron to the hearler's hut, before sweeping her hand towards a table of others and ordering them to accompany her to the site of the accident. They all took off running behind her, without even a second thought of defying her orders.

As the door shut behind them, Valka poked once more at her fish before standing to follow them. She may not understand her place, but she did know enough to know that it was not here, moping into her food.

As the group reached the site of the accident, it was clear to see what all the commotion was about. A nearly reconstructed home had been built on unstable foundation and crumpled to the ground, trapping at least 3 villagers within the rubble. Fortunately none were hurt. But their swift rescue was none-the-less a relief to their families.

One of the villagers, the father to the only child trapped in the collapse, came up to Astrid and gripped her with strong arms. "Thank ya, ye darlin' girl. Thank ya." He pulled her into a close hug, patting her lightly on the back.

And jumped away as a Nightmare prowled forward and growled at him, baring it's teeth in a nasty defensive matter. When the man released the chieftess-to-be, the dragon wrapped it's tail protectively around her, puffing smoke at the previously thankful man.

"I'm so sorry!" Astrid called to the frightened father. "They've been acting very strange lately."

"Protective," Valka added thoughtlessly.

Astrid turned to her, surprising the older women. She had not expected the girl to hear her. "Yes, exactly! I was flying near the cliffside when a rock fell and nearly hit me, and you know what happened? A Gronkle took the blow for me. A Gronkle! The densest, most self-center dragon I've ever worked with!" The girl attempted to push free of the Nightmare's tail, but only really managed to free herself enough to take a few steps. "You understand dragons well, right? Why are they doing this?"

Valka bit her lip.

Every characteristic she had seen from the dragons indicated that they sensed the girl was with child. This was the exact instinctive behavior they demonstrated towards the female dragons when they were carrying fertile eggs.

But was it really her place to make a hypothesis so grand towards a girl so young?

Clearly Astrid trusted her. They had barely spoken and yet she looked at her with an air of respect and admiration. The real question was- should she?

Was that her role?

Valka shrugged and answered as lightly as she could. "There are several reasons the dragons could be acting like this. Let's wait and see if their behavior changes."

She swiftly moved away, even though Valka could see the girl move to ask further questions.

Perhaps it would be better if she talked with her son. Perhaps that would be easier.

She instinctively switched directions, heading up the hill to the chief's manor. The wet grass slipped against her boots, as if to pull her away, but she ignored it. She knew she really should talk to him.

Valka opened the door and smiled at the young man before her. Still sound asleep at the dining hall table, Hiccup's hair was a matted mess, and a splash of ink was trailing down his cheek. As his mother closed the door behind her, Hiccup started and shot up, and disoriented mess. A sheet of paper stuck to his face, and there was a clearly visible line of drool at the corner of his mouth.

Valka tried her best not to laugh. She really did.

Her son rolled his eyes but a smile grew on his lips as Hiccup peeled the paper from his face. "Yes yes, I know, I'm a mess. No need to laugh at me, Mom."

It still warmed her heart to hear him call her that.

As Hiccup began wiping the spit from his face and rearranging his hair, Valka contained her chuckles and sat down beside him. "Boy, there're some things I've been meanin' ta talk with ya about."

Hiccup nodded distractedly, an eyebrow raised as he skimmed over the lines written on the page he had pulled from his face. "Yeah, sounds great Mom."

"It's a delicate matter, Son."

"Uh-huh." He set the page aside and dug into the pile before him, searching for another paper. "I'm listening."

"Hiccup, I'm serious." The boy looked up, a surprised glint in his eyes. "So, it's about-"

A crash roared through the building as the dark form of the family's beloved Night Fury came crashing through the roof, shortly followed by a large blue-green dragon that neither had ever seen before. The new dragon swiped a clawed first towards the black dragon, missing my inches. Toothless gave a fierce roar, and Hiccup nodded, sprinting to his friend and climbing on his back.

"Toothless! Go!" Hiccup called, motioning towards the sky. "Get him away from the village!"

And the two took to the skies, chased shortly by this new foe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hooooly crap do you guys like this story. I feel so honored. Seriously, you guys are the best.**

**Just so ya'll know- I'll ****_try_**** to update this once a day, until it's completed. We'll see how well I do with that (but I promise I'll try)!**

**Alright, enjoy the story. Remember- READ REVIEW AND FOLLOW! 3**

A blast of lightning struck towards them as Toothless dived, spinning sharply to the left before pulling upward at a nearly vertical angle. They barely managed to avoid the blast before another strike of electricity shot past them.

"Have you ever heard of a dragon that shoots lightning from it's mouth?" Hiccup called into his best friend's ear as they spiraled downward. A short growl echoed in Toothless's throat. Hiccup nodded, "Yeah, me neither."

The two dragons swirled together, fighting in a deadly dance of claws and teeth, before breaking away again.

Valka rushed from the splintered remains of her house and watched the fight with fear. Where was CloudJumper? They had to help! They had to help her son!

But when she glanced around, she found her answer.

CloudJumper was there, with all his massive might, but he was too preoccupied to help. Beneath his claw was a confused but calm Nadder, and clamped in his teeth was the collar of a shirt. In the shirt dangled a tiny blonde with swinging angry fists.

"CloudJumper, let me go! I swear I will pull out each and every one of your teeth if you do not release me this instant! I will make you pay! YOU WILL PAY!" Astrid's eyes turned frantic as Toothless released a roar into the sky. "Hiccup! HICCUP! Oh my Gods, HICCUP!" She turned her eyes to CloudJumper again, though now they burned with tears instead of anger. "Please, CloudJumper! Please! Let me go! I have to help him! What if he gets hurt? I have to help him. Please. Let me go." Her head fell in defeat.

Her cries fell on deaf ears- CloudJumper did not look persuaded in the slightest.

Valka exhaled a shaky breath and ran towards her dragon. "CloudJumper!" Astrid's head snapped up, hope in her eyes. "Let tha Nadder go."

"WHAT?! Let the NADDER GO?! The NADDER?!" Astrid cried as the massive dragon lifted his claw from the smaller one beneath him. "Valka, what are you DOING?!"

The older women jumped on the Nadder's back and took to the sky, not bothering to answer the girl.

In this fight, she sided with CloudJumper. Keep the girl safe.

Valka took to the air like a fish to water, and dove towards their new foe with relentless fury. She swooped under her son's Night Fury and into the green beast, shooting the Nadder's tail-darts into it's unprotected underside. The creature roared and swerved, diving down towards it's new attacker. In this moment of distraction, Toothless charged, gripping into the enemy's neck, twisting, and then diving in order to force the green dragon to the ground.

With a powerful pounce and steady footing, Toothless pinned the green dragon into the muddy earth. Valka jumped from the Nadder's back and grabbed a length of rope from it's saddle, using it to hogtie and subdue the attacker.

With shaking hands, she turned to her son, examining him for any sign or injury.

The boy rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. Really."

"Hiccup!" cried Astrid's voice, and when they looked up, they saw her running towards them, clad up top in only a bra.

"Uhhhhh," Hiccup stuttered as his face grew red. "You're not wearing a shirt."

Paces behind her followed CloudJumper, the tattered remains of Astrid's top still tangled in his teeth. With the enemy contained, he didn't seem particularly bothered that his hostage had escaped. He plopped down in the grass and began using his tongue to try and dislodge the cloth from his mouth.

"I had to escape your mom's crazy dragon somehow!"

"Escape?" Hiccup scrunched up his nose. "Why?"

"I don't freaking know!"

Hiccup turned to his mother, the unspoken question clear in his slight scowl.

Valka sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "He was jus' tryin' te protect ye," she said, looking to Astrid.

"I don't need to be protected!" the girl shouted. "What I need is to-"

And then her face grew pale, and she vomited into the grass.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry guys, this chapter is short and less exciting than I would have liked. But I promise you'll love the next one ;)**

**Enjoy!**

"Ohhh, Astrid, are you okay?" Hiccup dismounted from Toothless's saddle and placed a hand on his girlfriend's back as she finished coughing up the rest of the vomit. "What happened? Are you feeling sick?"

Astrid spit once and swallowed hard, trying to fight down another wave of nausea. "I'm alright," the blonde replied, trying to keep the grimace on her face looking tough. "I guess I must have worked myself up too much, that's all. It's been stressful, trying to deal with crazy dragons all day. Watching you fight without being able to join in to help wasn't exactly relaxing either."

Hiccup bit his lip, concern still growing in his green eyes. "You're really sure you're alright? If you want to see the healer, that's okay, you know."

The dull rejection in Astrid's eyes was as clear of an answer as her words. "I don't need the healer."

Valka looked between them thoughtfully, wondering if she should speak up. On the one hand, the sickness was the surest sign of pregnancy that she knew of. But on the other, there were other people about now, all easily within earshot. This was a delicate topic, and a discussion for a more private time.

So instead she said, "Why don't ya two go ta the house, Hiccup? Aye, the dining hall's a mess, but the rest a' the manor's still standing. Surely ye two can find an empty room fer Astrid to rest in fer a bit."

"No, Valka, I couldn't," Astrid protested. "There's too much work left to-"

"I insist, dear." Valka waved a lofty hand towards the disinterest CloudJumper. "Is my fault ye were worried ta sickness in the first place. Go. Rest." She looked to the subdued lightning-breather. "I can manage this'en just fine on me own." Toothless cocked his head in her direction, so Valka added, "And with some Night Fury help, I imagine we can't be stopped!"'

There was a glimmer of rebellion in Astrid's eyes, but the shaggy haired boy beside her spoke before she had the chance to turn the offer down. "Thanks Mom. I'll get her set up, and then I'll come down and help you with the new dragon."

"Take yer time," Valka said with a smile and a nod.

The Viking chief and his to-be chieftess nodded solemnly and headed towards the remains of their home.

"Hey, Astrid?" the boy said hesitantly. "Before, you said you've been having a hard time with the dragons, right? Is the training to much work? You don't have to do everything, you know."

A breathy chuckle was her reply. "It's not the training I mind, Hiccup." She looked to him, her brow raised. "You know I'm a very competent rider."

"I know," he said, squeezing her shoulder lightly as the walked up the hill to his home. "I just don't want you to get sick because you've got too much work on your plate."

"Ha!" Astrid shouted, startling the boy beside her. "You're kidding, right?" She didn't wait for a reply. "Every time I try to do something, one of the freaking dragons swoops in and does it for me! Whichever would be great, if they knew what they were doing! A Nightmare decided to help me carve a new door. You know what happened?! He started it on fire!"

Even though Astrid was mad, he couldn't help it- Hiccup laughed.

Fortunately, the girl did not seem upset by this- on the contrary, she began giggling too. When they pushed open the ajar door to the chief's manor, both young Viking was consumed with laughter.

When he'd managed to calm himself down some, Hiccup replied, "You've got to tell me how you've gotten them to help you."

"That's just it, though." The humor was sill there in her tone, but Hiccup knew Astrid well enough to hear the irritation beginning to sink back in as well. "I didn't do anything! They just started acting like this a couple days ago, all on their own. And it's freaking me out so much, I think it might be why I'm getting sick! The dragons won't let me lift a finger, Hiccup, and it's driving me insane."

"That...is weird," Hiccup agreed. "I wonder if my mother knows why they're doing this."

"I asked her!" Astrid lifted an exasperated arm as Hiccup opened the front door of his home. They walked in and to the back of the home (away from the damage). "She was so cryptic. She said there were many reasons the dragons could be acting weird, and then ran off before I could get another word out!"

Astrid opened one of the large wooden doors to an unoccupied bedroom and sat herself down on the bed. The boy followed shortly behind her, a light scowl on his face. "I'll talk to her about it, alright?" He sat himself beside her on the bed and took her hands into his own. "You stay and get some rest. I'll be back in no time."

"You could stay, Hiccup." She flipped her bangs out of her eyes and smirked. "You haven't been getting any sleep lately. You could probably use the rest more than me."

The boy laughed and shook his head. "No, no. I don't have time to sleep." He leaned in to kiss her gently on the forehead. Astrid was having none of that- she lifted her hand up and pulled his mouth to hers. Hiccup smiled into the kiss, held it for a moment more, and then broke away.

"Get some rest. I'm going to get help my Mom with that dragon."

Astrid nodded and climbed into bed as Hiccup turned to leave. " I love you," she called after him.

"I love you too," he replied as he shut the door behind him.

Astrid stared up at the ceiling, counting slowly in her head. After 2 minutes and 200 counts, she climbed out of bed.

"There. I'm rested. Back to work."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

After her son and nearly-daughter began to pace away, Valka turned to Toothless and CloudJumper. "Alright ye big lugs, get'im up in the air an' we'll take'im to the trainin' grounds." CloudJumper hoisted himself upwards while Toothless bound over to his rider's mother. She nodded to him graciously, before mounting him so she could help him to fly.

The two dragons gripped the ropes holding the new, strange green beast with their claws, CloudJumper on the left, Toothless on the right, and then pulled him into the air. Shockingly, their foe remained calm all the while. Their journey was quick and effortless.

When they arrived at the training grounds, Valka was hardly surprised to see one of her son's friends already there, occupying the arena.

Snotlout was wrestling with one of the babies, trying to force it into a headlock with all his might. "Come onnnnn, you little beast. You think you can beat me! Ha! I've eaten horses bigger than you. For breakfast!"

The baby yawned wide, seemingly unfazed, before casually tilting it's head inward and chomping solidly into the Viking boy's arm. A wild howl of pain erupted from Snot's throat, and he threw his head back in agony. However, with his head now upward, Snotlout could clearly see the ex-chieftess watching him, a spark of humor in her eyes.

His howl dimmed to a whimper and he tried his hardest to blink the tears out of his eyes. "Hello ma'am," he greeted her, his voice an octave higher than usual. "Wonderful weather we're having lately, isn't it?"

"Ye want some help there, lad?"

"What, me? Help? No, no no no. I don't need any help!" The color began to drain from his face as the baby still refused to let go. "Okay, maybe yes."

A hearty laugh escape the woman, and she easily approached the baby dragon and tickled it under the chin, coxing it to let go. The baby cooed happily and released the arm from it's jaws, instead favoring to nuzzle into Valka's side. "'Ere, let me take a look." She pulled the boy's arm out straight before he could protest, and nodded at the splotchy bruises. "All his teeth missed ye. He just gotcha with the far back gummy bit of his mouth. Ye'll be alright."

A nervous but relieved laugh was Snotlout's reply. "Oohhh, good. Good. Haha!" He grinned triumphantly. "I survived a dragon's bite with nothing more than a bruise! I'm the strongest Viking alive!" He punched a fist into the air.

Valka raised an eyebrow but bit her tongue. "Aye, that ye are. But could you do me a favor, lad? Take that baby back ta tha others an' clear out 'a the arena fer me? I've got this fella ta deal with."

For the first time since Valka had arrived, Snotlout looked around the arena, only to see Toothless teetering on top of a rope-bound mystery dragon. "Oh. Sure. Not a problem." Snotlout charged the baby, and began pushing into it's side in an attempt to make it move. This was wholeheartedly ignored by the dragon. With an embarrassed chuckle, Snot pulled a fish from his coat. This got the baby's attention, and like a donkey following a carrot, he lead the little one from the grounds.

Now that she was alone, it was Valka's chance to handle the new dragon.

She stepped towards it without fear- she knew to never show a potential enemy any weakness. A dragon could exploit your fear like a monster from a nightmare, if it so desired to.

But the beast remained calm, only watching her with solemn eyes.

Valka hummed to herself thoughtfully, kneeling down to be at eye level with this intelligent creature.

"Why did ye do it?" she muttered to it, reaching out to place a gentle palm on it's nose. The dragon sniffed but gave her nothing more.

Toothless plopped his head onto Valka's shoulder, causing her to startle slightly. She looked towards him, and saw his eyes were boring into the other dragon's, as though they were talking without words.

And then the new foe tilted his head downward in submission. And Toothless raised his, a glow of stubborn pride emulating from him.

And she knew what this was about.

"Ye were fightin' fer dominance?" Valka rubbed her eyes, feeling older than her real age (which was not young, mind you). "Of course ye were."

Why were dragons so simple to understand, when humans were so strange?

She stood and went around to the dragon's backside. Valka pulled a knife from her boot and reached to cut him free, when she was stopped by a voice.

"Hey hey hey, uhhhhh, what are you doing?" Hiccup shouted as he jogged his way towards them. Toothless perked up and trotted towards his best friend as Hiccup added, "We just got him tied up. Why are you cutting him out."

Valka waved her hand towards her son dismissively, and began cutting the ropes away. "He was fightin' fer dominance. He knew he could nev'r best the Bewilderbeast, bet he thought he stood a chance against a Night Fury."

Hiccup scoffed. "Well that's ridiculous. He can't beat Toothless."

"Well he knows that now, doesn't he?" Valka ripped off the final rope, and the creature stood and stretched out it's wings and arched it's back, in order to feel comfortable again.

"So, is this going to be a reoccurring problem, then?" Hiccup crossed his arms. "Are we going to have other challengers appear?"

"Oh, aye, at least fer a couple years, until Toothless's claim ta alpha is proven." Valka reached out and scratched the new dragon along the neck, earning her a low rumble of pleasure from the beast.

"Oh. Great. That's just great." Hiccup pouted as he leaned into Toothless's side.

"Com'on then," Valka said, looking expectantly to her son. "Give'im a pet or a scratch or somethin'"

Hiccup rolled his eyes but did as he was told. The dragon leaned into his touch, and the boy found himself smiling.

The two humans dwindled into silence, each enjoying the companionship of this new potential friend.

But then a strange thought came over Valka- was she supposed to speak? She'd been so long in the silence of the dragons, she often found herself uninvolved in conversations. Human liked speaking, did they not?

Besides, there were some matters she needed to discuss with her son.

"So..." she began uncomfortably. How was she supposed to do this? Hiccup looked to her expectantly. "So..." she stumbled again. "Uh...when is tha wedding supposed ta be?"

The shock look in her son's eyes was a clear sign that he had not been expecting that question. "Uh..." he stuttered, searching for words.

Like mother, like son.

Finally, he composed himself enough to say, "Uh, I don't know yet. Astrid and I were planning on sometime next year, but with...well, with everything that's happened lately, we may push it back farther."

A shocked laugh escaped Valka before she could repress it. "A year! Really? Ye wanna wait more than a year? Ah. No, no I don't think that's a good idea at'tall."

"No? Why not?"

"W...well." Valka bit her lip, trying to find the correct words. "Well, perhaps, with all the destruction, well, maybe tha village could use a good celebration, no?"

"Yeah," Hiccup looked down, sadness gleaming in his eyes. "Maybe. We just... Thought maybe it's be better to wait until the repairs were done."

Valka shook her head, trying to hide her distress. "If yer gonna wait fer the village ta be perfect, ye'll never be married! Dragons break things all tha time!"

Hiccup shrugged. "That's true." He looked up at her, smiling lightly. "When were you thinking?"

Another uncomfortable laugh escaped the woman. "Oh, I dunno, how about next week?"

"Next week?!" A flash of pain flashed in her son's eyes. "Mom, I can't do that!" He looked down, his fists gripping together. His voice was a low murmur when he said, "Dad JUST died."

It felt like an arrow to her heart.

He was right, of course. For the rest of her days, it wouldn't feel right celebrating without him there, but she knew it would feel so much worse to celebrate now, with him so fresh to the grave.

But if she knew Stoic (and oh, she did), she knew he wouldn't want them to sit around moping over him, smothered by the darkness of his loss. He'd want them rejoicing, for all the great things that had been, and for all of the great things that would come.

Especially with a baby on the way.

So, though she wasn't sure this was the right way or time or place to do this, Valka took a deep breathe and began to explain.

"Hiccup, darlin' ye know how all the dragons have been actin' real strange around yer Astrid lately?"

Hiccup looked up, surprised at the change of subject and confused at it's relevance. "Oh, yeah. She wanted me to ask you about that."

"Aye, well, it's a strange thing, really. I've nev'r seen it before with a human, but, well, then again, I 'aven't spent a lot of time with other humans and dragons together so that may be it." Hiccup raised an eyebrow and nodded. "So, ye see, the thing about it is, well, I've only ever seen dragons do it ta other dragons."

"Okaaaaay," Hiccup said, still nodding. "But why?"

"Well, tha dragons do it when the females are carryin' eggs." Hiccups face remained blank- like he still didn't understand.

"Eggs, Hiccup. Fertile eggs."

The boy still did not reply.

"By the Gods, Hiccup. She's pregnant!"

"WHAT?!" cried a distressed female voice.

Two arms lengths away, with wide eyes and shaking hands, stood Astrid.

**Don't you guys just love cliffhangers? I sure do. ) Let me know what you think is going to happen next!**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is chapter was fun to write :)**

**Enjoy!**

"This is your fault!" the girl cried as she slugged her boyfriend firmly in the arm.

Hiccup remained unmoved, his numb expression never fading. He turned to look at her dully. "Huh?"

With a frustrated growl, Astrid turned on her heel and buried her face into Toothless's neck, punching into the dragon's shoulder until her arm grew numb. The Night Fury watched her curiously, his head cocked and eyes warm, until her arm flopped loosely to her side.

The blonde inhaled sharply through her nose, held the breathe, and then released a quiet, muffled scream into Toothless's side.

Meanwhile, Valka's brow furrowed as she watched her son continue to be unresponsive. "Hiccup, dear, are ye alright?"

"Uhm, yes?" the boy said slowly as he began to nod. "Yes. Sorry, I just don't know what I'm supposed to feel right now."

Valka fought off a light smile and reached out to ruffle her son's hair. "Ye have plenty of time ta figure it out."

When her scream had ended, Astrid pushed off of Toothless and began pacing. "Was this part of the plan?" She asked herself, before answering, "No. But when has a Viking ever followed a plan? And sure, it's unexpected, but I've handled all sorts of life-changing surprises before. Am I going to let something so small hold me back? Of course not! It's just a baby. People have babies all the time. Heck, animals have babies! Sheep have babies, and sheep are as dumb as...well, sheep! I'm better than a sheep! This will be nothing! What's a baby? Nothing to be scared of." A breathy laugh pushed past her lips, and her knees gave out as she feel down into the soft earth. "Oh, Gods," she whispered into her hands.

For the first time in her life, Astrid was truly afraid.

Seeing the girl's distress, Toothless rumbled a low whine, and nuzzled the blonde lightly on her face. Astrid released another nervous, shaky laugh, and it sounded like she was about to break down. But instead of letting herself fall to pieces, she composed herself and tried to redirect her attention. She turned to face Toothless, and though her tone was sharp, when she spoke it was clear she was not angry. "You! You knew about this?! And you didn't tell me?!"

Finally Hiccup seemed to come back to Earth, because her words coxed a laugh from him. When Astrid looked at him, she was surprised to see him smiling.

"Astrid," the chief said, a stupid grin beginning to stretch across his face. "We're having a baby?"

A laugh bubbled inside her too. "Yeah," Astrid replied airily. "I guess so." And the laughing came on stronger.

"A baby..." Hiccup murmured in wonder, and then he laughed again.

The two young Viking both collapsed into fits of laughter, and Valka watched them with growing concern. This wasn't normal, right? She hadn't lived among humans for nearly 20 years, but she knew enough to know that this was wrong.

But when her son looked at her with such joy in his eyes and exclaimed, "Mom, we're having a baby!" well, Valka couldn't help but chuckle herself.

When the laughter had died down, Astrid stood and paced towards her love, gripping Hiccup by the hands. "So, you're not upset about this?"

"Upset?" the boy muttered. "No, I guess I'm not upset. Surprised? Yeah, I'm pretty astonished right now, but... I'm not upset. I mean, we ARE getting married."

And then a moment of realization hit him.

"Oh, Gods, Astrid. We need to get married. Like, now! Before you start to show! Oohhh, Gods." His eyes grew wide as he pulled away and began pacing. "Oh, man, if your father finds out he's going to kill me."

"Hiccup, you're the chief." Astrid's eyes were dull, but she was clearly smirking. "He'll be thrilled. Heck, I bet he'd be hoping for triplets." At this, Hiccup's eyes grew wide, causing Astrid to roll hers. "Not really, though, you dummy."

The shaggy haired boy laughed anxiously. "Right. I knew that."

"So," Valka said, trying to draw in the kids' focus. "When are you thinkin' of havin' the wedding, then?"

Astrid shook her head and ran her hand through her hair. "Ugh. We don't have anything prepared."

"We'll do it next week," Hiccup said beside her with a shrug. His soon-to-be bride gave him an incredulous glare, but he shook his head and added, "We'll make it work, Astrid. We always do."

And so, with a sigh of defeat from the bride-to-be, the wedding planning was underway.

**I've always thought that Astrid made a point of proving her strength, to others, yes, but also to herself. But in this circumstance, after the initial shock, I think Hiccup may have been the stronger one, with his whole-hearted acceptance.**

**Then again, he's not the one carrying the baby. ). Tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm the worst. I'm the worst person ever. Legitimately the worst. Because it took me so long to get this to you guys. And I said I'd update daily. And I promise I'll be back on schedule Monday morning with another chapter. But today, this was as soon as I could manage. So I'm sorry.**

**I hope you guys really enjoy this. There were a couple requests for Eret to get pulled into the story so I'm starting to make that happen. Are you guys Ruff/Eret fans? Cause I'm not sure what I'm doing with him yet.**

**Let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

The very next day, they announced to the village that they would wed in one week's time.

Hiccup had been worried that the vikings of Berk would question his choice to marry so soon after his father's death. (By the Gods, not even a full cycle of the moon had passed. What was he thinking?)

And his bride had been trying her hardest not to twitch anxiously, since all the villagers' eyes were shifted towards her. Did they know? Could they tell that she was with child? Astrid did not want to be responsible for bringing her family (both new and old) shame.

But when they pulled close to each other in front of the assembled clansmen and invited to whole of the village to join them in drink, dance and love, the two young vikings learned their worries were unfounded. The promise of free beer and two nights off from reparation work was all the people needed to be hollering towards the hills in joy.

As the two nervously moved to make their escape from all the attention and congratulations, they were approached by Ruffnut and Eret. The female twin had become as indecisive as a Zippleback whose heads disagreed. She switched her interest in boys daily, and it seemed that today her true love was Eret.

But Ruffnut was a sensible girl, because she immediately dropped her death grip on the previous trapper's arm (much to Eret's relief) and latched onto Astrid's. Toothless bared his teeth and let loose a low growl at how tight she was clenching into Astrid's skin, but did not move to attack the twin- yet. He trusted Ruff. Kinda.

"You. You are coming with me. We are getting a dress." She turned an angry eye to Hiccup before the boy could speak. "And you are not coming with." Ruff turned to Eret, looked him fully up and down, and let out a dreamy sigh before saying, "Stay with Hiccup and keep him out of trouble, okay babe? I would let you come with but unfortunately this is strictly girls only."

"Right," Eret said, scowling fiercely. "Shouldn't be a problem."

And so Ruffnut dragged the bride-to-be away, with a defensive, wary-eyed Toothless stalking them close behind. Hiccup had to fight off a laugh when he saw Astrid mouth the words 'Save Me'. There was nothing he could do for her now.

"So, kid," Eret said, rubbing his arm with an uncomfortable grimace. "I get it if you don't want me to come to the wedding, ya know?"

"What?" Hiccup asked, the surprise genuine in his tone. "Why wouldn't we want you there?"

"Wellll. You know. I tried to kill you when we first met. So I can see why you wouldn't want me around on your big day."

This caused the chief to laugh, but when he saw the confusion on the tracker's face, he held back and muttered, "Ohhh you're not kidding? But yeah, that's really not something to worry about. Like , that means nothing to me." With another laugh, Hiccup added, "Heck, when I first met Toothless, I almost killed him, and then he almost killed me, and you know how it goes. But look at us now! He's my best friend. Besides," the boy added with a wink, "I think Ruffnut would kill me if I barred you from the wedding."

The man scoffed. "Nah. I think Fishlegs already asked her to go with him. Not that I mind." The man rolled his eyes and chuckled. Then, with a relieved sigh, he added, "I'd been meaning to tell you thanks for a while, kid. You've made me feel more at home here in Berk than I'd ever felt with Drago. It means a lot to me."

Hiccup grinned his classic goofy grin and replied, "I think there's a place here at Berk for anyone who wants one. Including you, Eret."

Eret smiled, genuinely feeling at home. "Thanks, kid. And congrats."

Meanwhile, Astrid was feeling a little less friendly towards Ruffnut. Turns out, getting a wedding dress was not one of her favorite things to do. It was actually one of her least favorite things to do. Especially with Ruffnut.

And with Toothless staring them down like a mother bear watching her cub, Astrid just did not feel safe.

Hopefully she'd survive this.

Though Astrid wasn't so sure.

**In addition to the Ruff/Eret thing, let me know what you guys want in a wedding dress for Astrid! I didn't want to say it above and spoil the chapter ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, once again I've lied about my update timing, but this time, it was in a good way ;). Because instead of waiting until tomorrow, I have an update for you today. I'll give you one tomorrow too. :)**

**I'm trying to do some research about viking weddings, because on the one hand, I want to be accurate. But on the other hand, I want to have a little fun with it. So I'm not going to stay strictly within the boundaries of what my research finds, and I'm also going to do a mixture of pagan and modern traditions (since the vikings existed in the time when Christianity was starting to over-run paganism.). There's also a good chance I'll just make some stuff up. Cause that's fun for me too ;)**

**I've described Astrid's dress in the chapter below, and if anyone doesn't understand it, I might consider drawing a picture for you guys. Alternatively, I think it could be more fun if someone else drew a picture and linked to their interpretation of it- just so I can see if the words I wrote match up with the image in my head that I was trying to describe.**

**Either way, tell me what you think, and enjoy!**

"Ruff, you can't be serious."

Looking like some sort of exotic, warrior chicken, Astrid stumbled away from the mirror in disgust. The top of the dress was a pale green, and across her chest were unrealistically large, armored breast plates. A silver chain hung from the padding on her left shoulder and clipped to her right hip, which was the point where the dress flared out overly wide, with ruffles made from hundreds of white feathers that were each the size of her hand, cascading on top of each other until the dress reached the floor.

Toothless, who'd insisted on being in the room with Astrid at all times, snorted out a dragon-eske laugh.

Ruff rolled her eyes. "It's fashion, Astrid. I'm not surprised you don't understand." This was the seventh dress Astrid had tried on. The twin stood and began unweaving the golden rope lacing that held the back of the dress together. "Put on another."

"Ugh," the bride groaned as she pulled the large breast cups away from her body. "Why are these things so huge, Ruff? Like, they're obviously the wrong size."

"It's a sign of fertility. Don't you want to be more fertile, Astrid?"

He bride forced herself to bite her tongue. Actually, no, she didn't want to be more fertile. Frankly, she'd discovered that she was already more fertile than she'd have liked. Ya know, seeing as how she was already pregnant.

Once the chieftess-to-be was stripped to her undies, Ruffnut pulled another gown from the rack and tossed it into her arms.

"Ruff," Astrid asked as she stepped into the new gown, "Why'd you have these already on reserve with the seamstress? How long have you been planning this?" She pulled the gown up and waited for her friend to pull the lacing on the back together again- a golden ribbon this time, instead of roping.

The twin chuckled as she looped the ribbon into a bow. "What, you think these are for you? No. I was going to try these on. But, you know how generous I am. You're clearly in dire need of my beauty expertise, so I figured it would be best for me to shower my knowledge upon you. You're welcome."

"These were for you?" Astrid murmured, glancing down at the dress. They were clearly of a wedding style. "Ruff, are you getting married?"

A small smile pulled at the other girl's lips. "Yeah right. Like I could be tied down to a single man." The girl wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as Astrid adjusted the top of the new dress. "I'm too much woman for that."

The new dress was simple and, though Astrid hated to admit it, quite beautiful. The top was a shear red cloak that swooped low around her neck. There was tiny gold threading along the collar of the shear top that met where the transparent sleeves began. The sleeves were open along the front of her shoulders and forearms, only to join together at her elbow joint before opening again and flutter down the full length of the dress. The transparent top came in tight at her waist. Beneath the shear top was a white dress with a sweetheart top- the part that was tied together with the golden ribbon. It was cover in fine, gold lace and was tight to her body until it reached her waist, where it met the shear fabric. At her waist, it was covered in red accents, and then flared out, just slightly, and wrapped down from her left hip to her right ankle, before spreading out into a train behind her.

"I..." Astrid stuttered, at a lost for words. "I...well, it's...it's gorgeous."

As the tears welled into her friend's eyes, Ruffnut realized that this may have been the first time she'd ever seen Astrid cry.

"Ruff, I'm getting married," the girl muttered, the shock seeping into her voice. "I'm getting married. This is happening. This is real."

And Ruffnut smiled, unable to bring herself to say anything more than, "You look beautiful, Astrid."

So they paid the seamstress for the gown and headed towards home, the dress tucked safely into one of the water/fire proof bags on Toothless's saddle.

As the girls were walking, Astrid couldn't fight off a thought that kept picking at the back of her mind. "Ruff," the girl started, "you never told me why you had all those wedding gowns prepared?"

The girl beside her bit her lip, thoughtful, before curling her hands into fists and spitting out, "If you say a word about this to anyone else ever, I'll strangle you, you hear me?!"

Toothless's head swung around in a heartbeat, and he let loose an open-mouth, teeth-exposed, full-fledged roar directly into the female twin's face.

This did not faze Ruff, because she simply placed a hand on Toothless's nose and pushed his face away. "What is your problem?!" Ruff shouted at the dragon.

Astrid placed a hand lovingly on the Night Fury's neck. "She wouldn't hurt me, bud. She didn't mean it."

"Oh, I meant it," Ruff said, causing Toothless to snort a puff of smoke into her face. "This is a secret, you hear me?"

Astrid nodded as they turned down the side path to her home. "Sure, Ruffnut. You have my word."

"Eret and I have been getting pretty serious lately."

"Seriously?" Astrid nearly choked on her own spit. "What about being too much woman for one man?"

"We just act like that when there's other people around. Eret...he's actually a really good guy. And he still worries that his past puts him in a bad place with the rest of the villagers. There are times when he worries that some of the other vikings are going to run him out of town or something. And he doesn't want that to happen to me, too. He thinks everyone hates him, and he doesn't want to drag me down with him. So we act like our relationship isn't a real thing."

"That's so...backwards." Astrid flinched at the angry scowl her friend shot her. "I mean, it's sweet of him, I think, but he's totally off base. No one hates him."

Ruffnut shrugged. "He doesn't see it that way. So we play this game, where I act flighty and he acts disinterested, so no one thinks anything of us being together sometimes. But really," the girl smiled sweetly, in such a genuinely loving way that it made Astrid's heart melt a little, "he was the one who was talking about marriage. I just got the dresses to humor him." With that, Ruff seemed to pull herself back into her obnoxious persona, because she turned to Astrid and said, "Lucky for you. Where would you be without me?" The girl answered her own question. "Completely lost. Seriously, you're welcome. And you owe me."

Astrid gave her friend a playful slug on the shoulder. "Yeah, I totally do, don't I?" Astrid bit her lip and smiled. "Ruff , could you help me a little more- I'm afraid to face Frigg alone. Would you be my alter maiden?"

Frigg, the Norse goddess of love, marriage, and motherhood, was the deity that all Viking weddings were dedicated to. If a bride was frightened to face Frigg alone, then it was customary for her to select a trusted maiden to stand at her side at the alter, so they could face her together. The position was a great honor- especially at the wedding of the chieftess.

Ruffnut snorted and rolled her eyes, but there was a smile stretching across her face. "Gods, you're such a baby. Afraid of Frigg. I guess if you need someone tougher there to keep you safe, I can do it."

The two girls grinned turned around, headed back to the seamstress. Ruff would be needing a dress now too, after all.


	9. Chapter 9

**3 things about this chapter.**

**1) It is a little more adult (PG-13 rating) but it is also not relative to the plot. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can skip it.**

**2). This is as "smutty" as I am willing to go with this story. No further. Sorry. I want to keep it "all-age" appropriate.**

**3) You guys need to let me know what you want from this story. If you really like this chapter and want some more like it, I can do more. But if it makes a lot of you uncomfortable, I can also pull this one down, and never write another. Just let me know, okay? I'm not a mind reader ;)**

**With all that being said- enjoy!**

The week came and passed in a flurry of preparations and congratulations. By the end of the week, the food was nearly prepared, the great hall was decorated, and the couple was ready to be married.

It was the night before the ceremony and Hiccup could not sleep.

As it turned out, Astrid couldn't either. The moon was sitting full in the center of the sky, dancing with stars and dragons, when he heard the familiar tapping of pebbles being thrown against his window.

By the time Hiccup unlatched the window pane and pulled the panels open, Astrid was already scaling the side of his building with a practiced ease.

"I'm surprised you were able to slip away from Stormfly long enough to get out of the house," the boy said as he pulled the blonde into his room through his window. Of all the dragons, Stormfly and Toothless we're tied in the contest of extremity when it came to their protective nature.

"He was asleep by the time I decided to come." Astrid smirked guiltily at the thought of her dragon awakening, frantic to see that his pregnant rider was gone. "I'll have to get back before the sun's up so he doesn't worry himself sick."

Hiccup climbed back into bed and his love followed suit, nuzzling into his side and running her fingers through his hair, twisting small braids in and out of the ragged locks.

"We're getting married tomorrow," she spoke simply into his ear.

The boy hummed agreeably, wrapping a loving arm tight around her waist.

He rubbed her back and the girl pulled her hands from his hair, tucking them into her chest.

After a quiet moment, she admitted hesitantly, "I'm nervous."

"You?" the boy said with a smirk. "Nervous? Did I fall asleep? This has to be a dream."

When Astrid remained silent, the groom turned to look at her, and saw the girl frowning lightly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to poke fun at you."

"You're not just marrying me because of the baby, right?"

He'd not expected that. "What? No, of course not! I'd asked you to marry me months before we found out about the baby." When she didn't speak, a terrifying thought hit him. "You're not marrying ME because of the baby, right?"

Astrid sat up and glared at him with dead eyes. A firm slug to his shoulder was her response. "Of course not, you idiot."

"Heeey," he said, rubbing his arm. "You're gonna give me a bruise on my wedding day!"

So she punched him again, this time in the chest.

"Stop that," he said, throwing light punches back at her in response, though his never actually hit. Astrid grabbed his arms and forced them down to his chest, playfully restraining his movements.

A chuckle and a sigh escaped him as Hiccup stared up into Astrid's eyes, and he watched as the smile on her lips grew larger and larger.

"I love you." Such a simple sentence, but it carried so much emotion. And he'd meant all of it.

Astrid lowered herself into his chest and lightly pressed her lips to his. "I love you too," she said, not bothering to pull away.

He reached his hand up slowly and pressed it to her face, pulling her in closer, tasting the sweetness of her breath upon his tongue. Her back arched and he fought back a moan, deepening the kiss further.

Astrid's hand shot into Hiccup's hair again, though it was not soft or playful this time, but rather rough- needy. She pulled away slightly, biting down gently on his lower lip, and then kissed him again. Her heart was beating so hard that she could hear it echoing in her chest, and feel it deep in her spine.

Hiccup pulled away for a moment so that he could speak. "You should stay tonight," he muttered against her cheek, his voice low.

Astrid shrugged and nodded, moving to kiss him again. "I AM already pregnant."

And they spent the whole night wrapped in each other's love.


	10. Chapter 10

It felt so good to get away from it all.

After the announcement of her son's wedding, each of the villagers had felt the need to approach her and shake her hand, pat her on the back, or even deliver a few teary-eyed hugs. And while Valka had fully appreciated their love and support for her family, the interaction was too much for her. She never knew the correct thing to say, or the right place to give a smile, or even the proper timing for when to stop a hug (that had been an awkward moment). She was trying. But Valka still didn't really feel human.

Her heart belonged with the dragons.

She knew that, in the morning, she'd have to play a large role in the ceremony. Traditionally, it was not her place to participate. But it was the job of the groom's father and married brothers to present him, and, seeing as how Hiccup had no one, she would have to make due as a replacement.

It pained her heart to even think it. How her Stoic would have loved to be there. She felt certain his spirit was watching from the great halls of Valhalla, and he would be toasting the ceremony with Odin and Thor and Frigg themselves.

She had been working late into the night, making preparations for the wedding, when a sound had startled her from her concentration. It had been Astrid's Nadder, clawing at the front door, her eyes wide and frantically searching. Valka smirked. It was the third time this week the poor beast had turned up.

The kids must have thought they were so sneaky.

The ex-chieftess had led the Nadder to where Toothless was sleeping, outside the door of her son's room, to prove that her rider was suitably protected. This sight had calmed Stormfly considerably, but she was still jumpy with stress.

So to work off some energy, Valka decided to go out for a midnight ride.

Yes, she had needed to get away. Nothing made her feel more free than the rush of the wind howling in her ears, and the spray of the ocean as wing tips splashed into the salty water. This escape had been as much for her as it had been for the Nadder.

When they twisted around the moon, the pale light reflected from Stormfly's scales as mush as it did from the water, and this gave Valka the feeling that they were one with the stars. As they fluttered and danced in the sky, the rest of the world slept on.

When the moon began to fall, but before the sun broke the horizon, Valka decided to return home. The ceremony would begin in a matter of 6 or 7 hours, and it was important she was prepared. It would have been best if she could catch a few hours of sleep, but she doubted that would happen.

As the woman dismounted the Nadder and walked into her home, she was surprised to find that her kitchen was not as empty as she'd been expecting.

Astrid's hair was scattered and disheveled, her face was red and tear streaked, and her whole tiny body was shaking. As the two women's eyes met, the younger girl's whole body tensed tight, and she curled into herself and vomited into the bucket sitting in her lap.

A pool of sympathy welled inside Valka, and she took a step forward, so she could kneel beside the sick mother-to-be.

The girl finished expelling her illness and spit into the bucket, trying to clear the taste from her mouth. "I'm sorry," she muttered breathily. "I was trying to be quiet. Did I wake you?"

"Wake me?" Valka's eyes widened in astonishment. "No, child, I was up, but I wish ye had come and got me! There's no need fer ye ta be out here, fightin' the sickness all on yer own!"

A dry chuckle escaped the girl. "I'm not technically married yet. It's best if I try to do this alone, and keep it a secret. At least for a day more."

"There was no reason ta keep it from me, child," the woman said, her voice kind but stern. "I don't expect ye ta feel like ye've got to do this all on yer own."

Astrid rub a misplaced tear from her cheek -vomiting hurt!- and laughed again. "I appreciate it, really I do, but there's no need for you to be bothered by me. I'm strong enough to do this on my own."

The woman gripped the girl's shoulder, startling her. "That's nonsense. We're family now, ye hear! Ye don't have ta do _anything_ on yer own, if'n ye don't want to!"

A peculiar look came across the girl's face, almost like a painful smile, and at first Valka had worried she had insulted her. But when Astrid looked up and murmured, "Thank you," with such genuine gratitude, Valka knew she had actually managed to say something right. For once.

Which reminded her... "Are ye well enough ta walk, girl? There's something I've been meanin' ta give ta ye." When the blonde nodded, Valka took the bucket from her and stood, leaving an open hand to help lift the girl from the floor.

With shaky legs (she'd hardly gotten any sleep), Astrid took Valka's hand and stood, adjusting her clothes once she was steadily on her feet. "I should be alright now."

And with that, Valka led the girl to the workshop that she'd claimed as her own, and showed her to her workbench. Atop the messy wooden worktop was a scattered pile of cloth and dragon scales. Placed on the center of that disorganized heap was Stoic's sword, neatly polished and sharpened. "Ignore that mess," Valka said, waving her hand dismissively at the pile as she began digging through her belongings. "Hiccup will be needing that fer the ceremony today." She looked up briefly, so she could smile at the sword, before getting back to searching. "Ye know that it is expected that both the bride and the groom must present an ancestral sword ta eachother, to signify the bondin' of the bloodlines. I thought, what with Stoic's passing and all, it would be fittin' ta use his sword." The woman shook her head sadly, trying to push the thought from her mind. "But that's not what I wanted ta show ye. What I wanted ta give ye was this." The woman shuffled through a cluttered drawer for a moment more before emerging with a shiny ringlet in her hands.

Astrid gasped and took the object, holding it gently. "Is this...?"

"Aye," Valka replied, a proud smile on her lips. "A bridal crown. Though it be quite a bit untraditional."

The ringlet consisted of shimmering blue-green Nadder scales, looped together in a braid of gold and red ribbon, matching the shades of color in the girl's bridal gown.

"Are these from Stormfly?" the girl asked, gingerly examining the crown by the light of the moon.

Valka nodded. "Aye, they are. I thought it was fittin'." She watched as tears began to swell into the girl's eyes, and a horrific thought overcame her. Hoping to fix her error, Valka stuttered, "It's alright if yer mother has a crown she'd rather ye wear, child. I didn't mean ta put ye in an uncomfortable place. I understand it is not my place ta be presentin' this ta ye. I know it is the mother of the bride's job ta be givin' her girl a bridal crown. I meant yer family no dishonor."

The girl reached up and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "No no no, it's not that." She looked at the woman beside her with soft eyes, and her voice was low when she said, "My mother passed when I was 11, so I was going to forgo a crown, since she wouldn't be able to present one to me. But this...this means so much to me. Thank you."

A hard knot formed in Valka's throat. She hadn't known. Poor child.

But Astrid would have none of her pity. She quickly spoke up. "I'm a tough girl, you know! And I still have my father! I've done just fine, by my own rights, and with my own hands!" Her tone was less playful when she added, "I've done just fine on my own."

"Well, ye certainly have," Valka said with a smile. "Yer mother would be proud of ye."

Valka knew that _she_ certainly was.

The woman tossed an arm around the girl's shoulder and gave her a rough pat on the back. "Come on, now. Let's get ye ready fer your wedding."

**Added more Valka. And I got Stormfly's gender right this time. AND the wedding comes next!**

**Let me know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright guys, I'm going to be honest with you. I feel I owe you at least a little explanation as to why I missed two days.**

**I'm typically a student but this summer I have a job that has me working 8 to 5 everyday- pretty normal stuff. When I get home, I usually write out the chapter for you guys, so that I can consistently post them in the mornings when I wake up- that way, if the chapter takes 1 hour to write or 6 hours to write, it doesn't matter- you'll get your update consistently, at the same, everyday.**

**Tuesday night I started feeling sick. Like absolute garbage. I thought I was going to be sick myself, but instead I ended up falling asleep at 8 that night before managing to write anything. So that's why there was no Wednesday update. Then Wednesday night, I was still sick but managed to write half a chapter for you before I fell asleep writing. So that's why there was no Thursday update. I managed to finish the chapter last night, so I'm posting it now. I'm sorry this took so long, and honestly it's not my finest work. But with the weekend approaching, I'll be able to sleep as much as I like, so the chapters should become consistent again and the quality for the next ones will improve.**

**So again, sorry for the wait. I'm almost better now so there shouldn't be anymore delays. I hope you enjoy this. :). Let me know what you think will happen next ;)**

The front door slammed open, and the clattering bang was followed by an accusatory cry of, "What do you think you're doing here?"

Her fork was half way to her mouth, but Astrid froze before she could finish the bite. Slowly, her eyebrows crept upwards. "What?"

Ruffnut paced into the Haddock's home, her fists clenched angrily at her side. "You're not supposed to see the groom before the wedding! It's bad luck! And unfavorable to the Gods! You can only see him after the procession."

"Uh huh." Astrid turned away, going back to eating the breakfast that her and Valka had prepared.

Judging by the expression on the twin's face, there were two possible options for Ruff's next plan of action. Either her head was going to explode, or she was going to slug Astrid across the face. With a fiercely protective Nadder sleeping mere steps away, Valka knew both options resulted with a dead girl in her kitchen.

So she decided to intervene. "Astrid and I have spent all mornin' makin' preparations fer tha weddin', dear. I haven't even seen a hair from Hiccup since yesterday." All of these things were true. Valka had simply decided to claim that SHE had not seen her son. She'd never said Astrid hadn't.

This omission of fact was convincing enough to placate the maid of honor, because Ruffnut gave a huff, grabbed a biscuit from the counter, and plopped herself down at the table beside them. She leaned back into the chair, shoved a chunk of bread into her mouth, and droned out, "Fine. Whatever." Crumbs fell to her chin as she continued. "Just so long as you're both ready to go when the sun's above the horizon. I don't care."

Astrid shoveled another scoop of eggs into her mouth. "How much time do we have left anyways?"

"Eh. Probably about an hour." Ruffnut shoved the last bite if her biscuit into her mouth.

A weariness washed over Astrid. She'd barely gotten a wink if sleep. Too bad. "Alright, we should probably hop to it, then," she said before plopping the remains of her breakfast into her mouth. Ruff nodded, and the two girls said their farewells to Valka as they headed back to Astrid's home, where her procession would begin.

It was ceremony to have the bride begin the journey from her ancestral home, and then eventually be walked down the aisle by her dad to the alter where the exchange of hands (and therefore protective duty) would be exchanged, from father to husband. Astrid wasn't sure what the symbolic significance would be if she accidentally started from Hiccup's home instead of her father's, but she did know one thing for sure- the village would not be pleased.

No, it was better to be on time for her own procession.

When the girls had left, Valka had cleared the dishes away before heading off to her next task- waking her son.

That boy could sleep through anything.

Which was why she was surprised that, when she knocked on the door, he was already up and out of bed.

"Yer up?" She said as she pushed into her son's room. "What a shock!"

The boy rolled his eyes but there was a smile on his face. "Mom, it's my wedding day. Of course I'm up." A far away look crossed onto his face. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Oh, the stupid boy- didn't he know he wasn't allowed to make her cry until the wedding had already begun? But saying something that sweet was bringing faint tears to Valka's eyes.

Her son was getting married.

And she'd only just met him.

She shook the thought away. It didn't matter. Of all the humans she had interacted with, Hiccup had been the easiest. Maybe it was because he was her son, or maybe it was because he had the heart and soul of a dragon, but Hiccup was one of the few that made sense to her.

"Come on, then," she said, pulling the boy from bed. "Let's get you ready."

She took the boy downstairs and proceeded to her workshop. Just as she had done with Astrid, she had to prepare her son.

Glancing around, Valka brushed aside the clutter and grabbed a pile of clothe that was laying on the side. "Here," she said, handing him the clothing.

They were mostly white with red and gold detailing- Hiccup knew that this was to match Astrid's dress, even though Ruff wouldn't let him see it. There was a fur cape included, and his little skull insignia was stitched into each of the sleeve. The cape was attached to the outfit with a brooch made of dragon scales, and when he examined them closely, he saw that they were Toothless's.

He barely had time to look it over before his mother pushed his father's sword into his hands.

"Ye understand why this is important, don't ye?" Hiccup nodded solemnly, but his mother explained anyways. "Yer father's soul is going to watch down on ye because ye carry that sword. And when ye hand it ta Astrid, yer not only entrusting her with the continuation of our bloodline, yer entrusting her to continue ta uphold the Haddock name and honor. Ye understand?"

The boy nodded again.

"An' look on her hilt. I've already placed the ring." And it was true- carved and twisted from the scale of a Nadder was an elegantly engraved ring. "That one's fer the girl, and she has yours. You know tha deal."

"Thank you," Hiccup said, a pleasant grin stretching across his face.

Valka smiled herself. "Yer father'd be proud a ya."

And with that, the boy slipped into his garments and the two rushed to the great hall, where the wedding was to be held. Not technically in the hall, though, but just right outside of it. It was best to have a wedding outside, and it was certain that the God's must be smiling down on them that day, because for the first time since the creation of man, the weather on Berk was gorgeous.

The alter was set up and draped in while clothe and a bounty of red and yellow flowers. The elder was already waiting there for him, and she smiled to him kindly before motioning for him and Valka to move forward. They did as instructed and soon the ceremony began.

Astrid and Ruff appeared moments later, right on time, followed by a procession of her family. Though Astrid had no siblings or mother, her father presented her, followed by a gathering of her wed cousins and aunts. The only male in her process besides her father was a young relative (distantly related), who was placed in charge of presenting their family's ancestral sword. Though, seeing as how the young couple had already tossed tradition of the wind several times, the sword was replaced with Astrid's axe, which had been her mother's before her.

And there were tears in Hiccup's eyes as his bride took his hands and the ceremony began. But he wasn't the only one. There wasn't a tearless face in all of Berk that day.

The elder splashed the ritual water upon the couple, blessing them and calling upon the favor of Frigg and Freya. The two exchanged swords and then rings, and at the end of the ceremony, the wedding bell was struck and much rejoicing began.

When the ceremony ended and the cheers from the villagers began, Astrid heard a familiar cry go out.

Gobber's arms were in the air as he called out, "Alright ye fools! To tha drinkin' we go!"

And as the ceremony ended, the celebration began!


	12. Chapter 12

**I really like this chapter. I feel like I'm back on my game. Enjoy!**

Astrid had never been the type of girl to dream about her wedding day. She'd never been the fantasizing type, instead preferring the comfort of reality. But, even as a young girl, she'd always known she would someday wed. It was just that, she never would have guessed she would spend the day like this.

Kneeling on the floor in the most secluded bathroom in the reception hall, trying to keep the vomit off her wedding gown.

She coughed a couple times more, tears leaking to her eyes. Her throat was completely raw, and even swallowing her own spit hurt. She leaned against the stall door and took a deep breath, trying to compose herself again. She didn't want anyone to worry- especially not Hiccup. This was the first time she'd seen him so full of life since he'd lost his father. If he knew she was unwell, it would ruin his night.

She'd bare this on her own.

But when she stood, brushed herself off, and opened the door, she was shocked to see she was not as alone as she had hoped.

"Puking your guts out on your wedding day. How magical."

Ruffnut watched her friend squirm under her gaze and raised an eyebrow.

The bride shrugged slowly. "Must be the nervous jitters."

"You're already married, duh." Ruff scrunched up her nose. "You can't be nervous for the wedding AFTER the wedding."

Astrid flinched internally. Yeah, that was a good point. "Then I must have had too much to drink."

"You haven't had a single glass of anything besides water," the maiden of honor said with a scoff. "I know- I've been watching."

Astrid forced down a nervous giggle and instead put on a tough face. She was out of excuses, so intimidation was the next best option. Trying to come across as angry, she spit out, "Well stop. Maybe I don't like being watched."

The other girl was not concerned in the least. "Too bad." Ruff stood and gently slugged the bride in the shoulder. "It's my job to watch you when I'm worried. That's what friends are for."

A slight frown pulled at the corner of Astrid's lips, and the tough demeanor fell away. "You've been worried? Why?"

Ruff shrugged. "You've been weird lately. And Stormfly has been more than weird. She's been crazy. Like... Craaaaaaaazy." When Astrid looked down, Ruff continued nonchalantly. "I'm not going to make you say anything, but if you ever want to talk, I'm here for you, okay?"

"Yeah," the girl said, relieved for the escape. But then she really thought it over.

The twin before her was her maid of honor. She'd known that Astrid was without a mother to present her, and instead of making her feel dejected and alone, she'd helped her pick out a dress and made her wedding day nearly perfect. She'd taken over the familiar position, and not even raised a single complaint about it. Ruff had even trusted her enough to share how serious she and Eret had become. Wouldn't it be best if Astrid shared her secret with her friend as well? Didn't she owe Ruff that trust?

With a soft smile, Astrid nodded to herself and said, "Well, actually, I guess I should probably tell you-"

Wooden beams and thatched roofing crashed in around the girls, as a frantic screeching rang into their ears. Suddenly, debris and smoke flooded her vision, and Astrid didn't know which way was up anymore. There was a sharp tug on her shoulder, and before she realized it, the bride was a mile up in the air, dangling from Stormfly's claw.

"Ruffnut! Hiccup!" Astrid screamed down towards the earth. But all she received as a reply was a wisp of smoke from the now flaming great hall, as it became engulfed by a raging fire's all consuming maw.

"HICCUP!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Just a quick question- are there any large/active communities that you guys recommend I suggest this story for? (Actually, how do communities work? Do I recommend myself or do they find me? I've never been in a community before- I just found out that they exist!)**

**Also, it seems that you guys don't like cliffhangers. I suppose I should stop doing that, then.**

**Enjoy!**

The flames scourged the land with the heat of Hell and it consumed everything in it's path. The great hall was a towering mess of charred wood and ash, nearly completely destroyed, but still the fire was not satiated. It grew larger, still hungering for more.

The villagers scattered for their dragons, swooping up any friends and family they could find, before taking to the skies to escape the all encompassing heat. There was no doubt in their minds that they were mightier than this new foe. But they fled for now- they were no use in a fight if they died in the initial attack.

Hiccup was one of the first to escape the flames, and therefore the first prepared to counter strike. He was not going to wait for the attacker to come at them again- the instant he felt the ground shake and smelt the first hint of smoke, he'd been on Toothless's back, headed straight for clouds.

The young chief had known exactly what this was. There'd been so many clues; the sudden change in air pressure, the slight tinge of acid in the back of his throat, the firm thud as a heavy weight hit the ground. There was no doubt in his mind what was happening.

A dragon attack.

He'd worked with too many dragons in his lifetime to let one sneak up on him now. Even on his wedding day.

Especially not on his wedding day.

So, with a trained eye and calm demeanor, the boy leaned off his airborne dragon's shoulder, focused in on the cloud of smoke billowing off the ground below him, and waited.

There was a shimmer of light within the smoke- the unnatural reflection of sun on scale- and Hiccup knew that now was his chance to move. Toothless surged forward, twisting into a sharp downward spiral, and lunged into their attacker.

Their foe burst from the smoke with a screech of pain, and pulled into the sky, shaking Toothless's claws out of it's newly wounded shoulder.

The beast was a shock of a sight, but not due to any sort of impressive feature or trait- rather, it was surprisingly small, nearly half the size of the Night Fury. It's deep blue scales were covered with fresh blood, from the leaking wound that Toothless had delivered into it's left side. A slight smirk pulled at the corner of Hiccup's lips- this thing was so tiny, not to mention badly wounded. It was down for the count.

The boy pushed Toothless forward, head first towards the small blue enemy.

And his arrogance nearly killed him and Toothless both.

The small foe opened it's maw, and it's jaw expanded to twice it's previous size. A massive cloud of explosive green gas gathered in it's mouth within moments, and when the spark at the back of it's throat lit, it was as if a bomb had gone off.

In a flash of movement, Hiccup and Toothless we're whipped backwards, rolling over themselves at least a dozen times before coming to a shaky halt more than 50 meters away.

But it was not the fiery blast that had knocked them away, but rather a massive slam from CloudJumper's tail. And this had saved their lives. In his attempt to keep his two companions safe, CloudJumper had taken the brunt of the blast. His sides were still licked in the enemy's flames, but even so he had managed to pin the blue dragon's head safely beneath a massive claw. Though the large dragon had some serious burns lining his face and neck, there was no doubt he would survive- there'd been weaker dragons who had walked away from much worse.

But Valka, who was sitting on CloudJumper's back, had also taken a heavy hit.

And she wasn't moving.

**In case you hadn't figured it out, I lied about stopping with the cliffhangers. ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter is less exciting than I'd have liked. But it was very essential. So I'm pretty content with how it turned out.**

**Enjoy!**

His whole body ached.

There was a solid gash from his upper right chest to his lower left hipbone, and it was leaking a steady stream of blood, dyeing his white marital shirt a deep crimson shade of red. His left ankle was twisted and swollen, because it had gotten smashed during his and Toothless's roll, and though he wasn't sure, he had a sinking feeling that his left arm had somehow popped out of it's joint.

In normal circumstances, he'd have been in tears from this pain.

But right now, Hiccup didn't feel any of it.

He was too busy trying to stumble towards his fallen mother.

"Oh Gods oh Gods oh Gods oh Gods nooooo no no." His steps were wobbly and uneven, and he tripped to the earth, scattering the loose pebbles around him as he hit the ground. The stones carved into his palms, scraping them open, causing more blood to escape him. It didn't matter. He pushed forward, struggling to his feet once more. "Mom? Mom! Answer me, Damnit! Answer me!"

By now Toothless had also managed to right himself, and, being almost entirely uninjured, it took the Night Fury less than three swift steps to be at his rider's side. Hiccup leaned into his friend, and with the dragon acting as a crutch, they made their way to their singed family members.

Once they reached CloudJumper's side, Hiccup released his death grip from Toothless's saddle and practically tossed himself into his mother's dragon's side. "Mom?!" the boy cried again. The woman did not stir.

Toothless came around and looked CloudJumper in the eyes. There was a moment of unspoken communication- a look so deep and knowing that it was clear that they both knew what needed to be done- before the two dragons sprung into action. Toothless dove down on top of the small bomb of a dragon, forcing it's jaw shut with all his strength, as CloudJumper removed his claw from it's head. With the foe now properly secured, CloudJumper twisted his head around, grabbed Hiccup by the shirt with his teeth, and took too the sky. "Hey, what are you doing?!" the chief cried frantically as he dangled in CloudJumper's mouth, but he calmed considerably when he realized what their destination was to be.

The healer's hut was growing steadily closer with each beat of CloudJumper's wings.

The massive dragon landed heavily and released the boy. The beast didn't bother waiting for a human to assist him. Using one massive claw, the dragon slammed the door to the hut open, demanding the residents' attention at once.

The healer was a woman by the name of Rosalinde, though she was known as Lindy to most. She was older and wiser than all the other villagers, excluding only the elder herself. Her face was as soft and wrinkled as the softest, most pliable of fabrics, and her hair was long and wild and bright, just like her spirit. Her medicinal abilities were exceptional, but due to her age, her physical capabilities were becoming increasingly limited. So when the door slammed open and revealed the bloodied chief and his unconscious mother, she called to her assistant for help.

"Camille, child, help tha boy while I help his mother."

Her assistant, a girl of perhaps sixteen, looked on in wide-eyed shock. Camille had been raised a warrior, and been training as a healer for many months, so like any real Viking, she had seen her fair share of gory wounds. But the sight of the village chief, drowning in his own blood and stumbling to his knees, was just too surreal to be true.

She bit her lip hard and shook her head hard, trying to snap herself out of her daze. With a determined nod and a furrowed brow, Camille cried, "Yes Ma'am!" and rushed to help Hiccup into the safety of the hut.

Meanwhile, the healer used a knife to cut the leather security straps on CloudJumper's saddle, which were the only things holding his rider in place. She watched as Valka rolled from his back, collapsing in a heap on the ground. Lindy straightened the woman out, ripping the tattered tunic from her scourged body, and examined the wounds.

Valka's face and chest remained largely undamaged, with the majority of the burning and scarring trailing along her arms and legs. The woman's chest continued to rise in fall with steady but ragged breathes, and when Lindy placed an ear to her chest, she could still hear Valka's heart beating, though it was too fast, too frantic, and very irregular. Placing a hand to her forehead revealed that Valka had quickly gained a fever.

"She in shock," the woman muttered, spitting out a vulgar curse under her breath before adding, "And unconscious! Damn!" Lindy pulled herself to her feet and called out again. "Camille, have ye gotten Hiccup in a bed yet? I'll be needing yer help with Valka too."

The girl emerged from the hut, her hair now tied back with a damaged ribbon and blood smeared upon her hands and face. "Got it," she said, rushing to Lindy's side so she could grab the other injured dragon rider. While the assistant helped to pull Valka into the hut as well, she added, "Ma'am, I stitched up the wound on Hiccup's chest and bandaged the scrapes on his palms. He won't die from blood loss, but I believe his shoulder's dislocated. You'll have to put it back into place- I don't know how."

The two healers worked together to get Valka placed comfortably in another bed, and Lindy nodded thoughtfully. "Very well, then. I'll handle the boy and yer goin' ta have ta handle the woman's burns. Alright? And get her feet up in tha air some! It'll help with blood flow!"

Camille did as she was instructed as her mentor made her way over to Hiccup's side. Lindy looked the boy over, inspecting the quality of the stitching in his chest- for how rapidly the young girl had worked, she'd done a fine job. Then, she moved to examine his arm, speaking while doing so. "How'd this happen, boy?"

Hiccup shook his head slightly, barely having the energy left to flinch as Lindy pushed on his injured shoulder. "It was my fault," he muttered, his voice dry. "It was all my fault. I acted too quick, I didn't think, and she got hurt. It was my fault."

The words rolled off Lindy like water- she'd heard that before, and knew better than to believe the guilt-ridden confession of an injured young man. Her eyes still focused on the placing of Hiccup's dislocated arm, she replied, "Well, I've nev'r seen a human cause such extensive burns before, so unless ye pushed her into a fire, I doubt yer the one who did this."

"I should have waited, though, instead of rushing in-" the boy's words were caught in his throat, replaced by a sharp yelp as Lindy shoved his joint back into it's proper place.

"There. Good as new," she said, a pleased flicker dancing in her eyes.

"Heeeeey," Hiccup groaned, but the woman walked away, no longer interested in what he had to say. Instead, she approached Camille, and took over the job of wrapping Valka's wounds as the assistant continued applying the burn ointment.

A flutter stirred within Valka's eyes, and her lids parted for a second, before gently floating shut once again. A groan pushed past her dry, chapped lips, and a cough rumbled in her chest.

"Wake up, Valka!" Camille cried, a flicker of hope sparking in her chest. "Please, wake up!"

The woman groaned again, but did not speak a reply.

"Don't push her, child," Lindy sad, patting her assistant on the back reassuringly. "She managed to get herself conscious, if only for a moment, and that's more than enough to make me happy."

And then the front door burst open once again, though this time their intruder was not a dragon.

It was Eret, son of Eret, holding an injured Ruffnut in his arms. "Please, help her!" He called, his eyes wide and frantic.

Ruffnut, who was looking very much conscious and very much annoyed, smacked him roughy in the arm. She turned to Lindy and muttered, "I'm fine. It's just a broken leg."

"Ruff?" Hiccup called from his bed. He'd seen the twin follow his bride to the bathroom. "Where's Astrid?"

A spark of realization came into Ruffnut's eyes. How could she have forgotten about her best friend?

"Actually, I don't know."

**Well, what'd you think? Adding the assistant was a bit of an after thought for me- but how else would such an old lady be able to get anything done? - so I hope her character doesn't sound too unplanned. But I had no idea for what to name her, so I picked the name of one of my readers haha. I hope that's alright. :P**

**Let me know what you thought, and let me know what you want to see next- this story's always changing in my mind! ) Even I don't know where it will go!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Haha, this chapter was fun. Astrid's getting moody :D**

Astrid had had just about enough of this.

Her voice had worn out about 45 minutes ago, and the realization had set in that, when it came to Stormfly, screaming and pleading and threatening and crying would get her no where. And while they were so high in the air, there was no where for her to escape to. So, even though the bruise on her shoulder from Stormfly's grip was starting to burn, Astrid stayed silent and suppressed her tears. There wasn't much she could do but dangle in her dragon's claws and pout.

Which eventually left her with nothing to do but think.

At first she wondered if Hiccup was okay, but when the thought of him injured or dead crossed into her mind, she decided to wonder on something else. The girl didn't really feel like bawling her eyes out while she was miles up in the air. And it certainly wouldn't solve anything.

So Astrid took a deep breathe, calmed herself, and did something she usually tried very hard not to do- she thought about her baby.

It was terrifying.

It wasn't that Astrid didn't want the child. No, that wasn't it at all. Her fear was quite the opposite, really. She was more afraid that the child wouldn't want her.

The blonde girl had been without a mother for so long, she could barely remember what things mothers were supposed to do. She had faint memories of her mom brushing her hair and singing her soft lullabies. The feelings of a gentle kiss goodnight, or a welcome-home hug after a long trip, were fading ghosts in the back of her mind.

Astrid couldn't do these things. She was a fighter; a warrior! Hand her an axe and she'd slay any foe! Point out a mountain and she'd climb to the very top!

But sing a lullaby? She didn't even know a single song!

By the Gods, what if she ruined her child? It's not like there was a way to redo this sort of thing! What if the child was ashamed of her?

Worse, what if it hated her?

Tears pricked at her eyes again. Stupid hormones! Why was she crying?!

Her tears dried up quickly when she spotted a mass of land out in the horizon. How long had it been since they'd seen dry land- three hours? Four? Who knew- it was dark outside now, so telling time was growing harder. It didn't matter. Stormfly was headed straight for land, and that's the only thing Astrid cared about.

Joy bubbled inside her, and for a moment she wanted to hug the Nadder. Finally! Land! Any land! Sweet, beautiful, solid land!

And then she saw where they were.

Berk.

"Did you..." Astrid's voice trailed off as the joy in her stomach turned to fury. "Stormfly, did you fly us in circles? Did you FLY us in CIRCLES above BERK FOR FOUR **FREAKING HOURS?! ** By the **GODS**, Stormfly, I'll have your **HEAD** FOR THIS!"

The dragon still continued to ignore Astrid, dropping the girl from her claw down in front of the healer's hut, before circling around to plop down by the sleeping CloudJumper's side. A glow of pride shined off of Stormfly. The dragon was proud of herself. She'd kept her rider and the unborn hatchling safe! The Nadder curled up and gave a tired but content sigh. She'd earned a nap.

Astrid was seeing red, but a hoarse laugh ripped out of her throat. She couldn't handle this right now. She just couldn't. It was too much. She needed to sit down. With a tired groan, she stumbled into the healer's hut- she had a sinking feeling that Stormfly wouldn't let her wander off to anywhere else. But at least here she could get her shoulder looked at.

There were a few small candles flickering inside, and the only one moving about was the healer's assistant, Camille. The girl's hair was a matted, sweaty mess, and she didn't bother to look up when Astrid walked in- she was too busy grinding a poultice.

"Camille?" Astrid asked, frowning lightly. "What's going on? You're a mess. Is everything okay?"

The girl looked up, shock flashing into her eyes. She jumped from her seat, knocking her chair back on to the floor, and gripped the girl in a tight hug. "Astrid!" she cried. "You're alright!"

"Yeah..." the newly-wed replied as she awkwardly gave Camille a couple uncomfortable pats on the back. She didn't really know the girl that well. "I think I'm okay. Why?"

"Everyone has been looking for you. Hiccups's been going out of his mind!"

This single sentence released a weight from Astrid's shoulders that she hadn't even realized she'd been carrying. Hiccup was alright! Praise the Gods.

"Where is Hiccup, anyways?"

Camille flinched a little, biting her lip with worry. "He's in the back room with his mother. Valka hasn't been doing too well- it's why I was making the burn poultice. She only just woke up."

"What?!" called Astrid as she pushed past the girl. She swung into the private room, ignoring the assistant's protests, and made her way to her new husband's side.

Hiccups's eyes went wide when he saw her, and if he hadn't been leaning against his mother's bed for support, Astrid would have been willing to bet that his knees would have given out. As it was, they did not, and instead the boy approached her and pulled her in close, hugging her tight.

He never wanted to let her out of his arms again.

"I was so worried," he muttered into her hair. "Thank the Gods you're alright."

Astrid scoffed, murmuring, "Thank the Gods? Ha! More like 'curse Stormfly', for holding me captive for so long."

A weary laugh came from the bed beside them, drawing their attention in. "Valka!" The girl cried in concern. "What happened to you!?"

The woman laughed again. "I played with fire an' I got burned, child. I'll be alright. Don't ye be worryin' about me."

Hiccup rubbed his eyes and glanced between his mother and his wife. "It was my fault. She took a really serious blow for me."

"Nonsense!" Valka cried with a laugh- it was weak but heartfelt. "That's a parent's job, boy! Ta protect their child." Her eyes grew soft, and her voice light, when she added, "Ye may not understand now, but when the baby gets here in a few months, ye will."

Hiccup groaned, but couldn't fight back a smile. He still felt guilty, but he could not hide his joy. His mother was awake! She'd be okay!

But Hiccup wasn't the only one who couldn't contain his emotions.

Sitting up in a bed that was on the other side of the room, Ruffnut threw an accusing glance between her two newly-wed friends. "Excuse me? Did she just say, 'baby'?!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Guh. Short chapter today, guys. But it's important, and I tried to make it funny, to make up for the length.**

"Seriously, Astrid?" Ruffnut looked at the girl, her nose wrinkled and her brow furrowed. "I didn't really get it when you two first started dating. Like, you had always been waaaay out of Hiccup's league. But I figured, hey, love makes people do crazy things!" The twin begin rubbing the bridge of her nose, and perturbed expression on her face. "But you actually...like...TOUCH him? Like ACTUALLY you... you..." Her face twisted with disgust. "Guh!"

"Hey!" Hiccup protested. He wasn't THAT bad. Was he?

The twin ignored him. "Seriously. Now I have all sorts of nasty mental images that I never ever ever EVER wanted!" The girl grimaced. "I mean, it's Hiccup! HICCUP! EWW!"

The boy frowned. "You know I'm in the room, right? Like, I can hear you. I'm literally standing right here."

"I just..." Ruff rolled her eye and plopped herself back onto the bed. Her voice was soft, and she sounded tired when she said, "I just can't believe you didn't say anything to me."

"Ruff, I'm sorry. I was going to tell you." Astrid had never meant to hurt her friend's feelings. And she really had planned to tell Ruffnut! But when the twin raised her arm dismissively and did not sit back up, Astrid could tell that the girl didn't believe her. "I promise I was going to," the newly-wed continued. "It's what I was going to say when Stormfly crashed into the bathroom. Remember?"

The twin huffed out an angry breath. "Yeah," she relented. "You were going to tell me something. And then your crazy dragon swoop in like it's tail was on fire."

"Aye, Stormfly's tryin' to protect tha baby," Valka tossed in. Ruff sat up again, her interest piqued, as Valka added, "That's why tha dragons have been acting so strange with Astrid lately. Ta protect tha baby. It'll probably only get worse."

"It's gonna get worse!" Astrid collapsed down on the edge of her mother-in-law's bed. "Nooooo... How could it possibly get worse!?"

"Oh, they'll get more protective, that's fer sure. Though, since I've nev'r seen it with a human before, I can't say fer certain what the dragons'll do," the injured woman said with a shrug. "Ye'll just have ta wait and see."

Astrid let out a tired groan and fell backwards into Valka's bed, reaching her hand up to run it through her messy hair.

She had a sinking feeling that it was going to be a looooong, long year.

And she was right.


	17. Chapter 17

**Alright guys, 2 things.**

**Thing 1: blah blah blah 4th of July blah blah blah excuses blah blah blah too busy blah. :P. I should have updated this sooner. I know I should have. But family's been around for the holiday, and it's been hard to find some time to myself. I haven't had the chance to write until now.**

**Additionally, for my own sanity and for the sake of the quality of this story, I'm going to stop pushing myself to try and update everyday. I feel like the writing is not as good as it would be if I didn't feel rushed, plus it's now taking up time that I need to spend sleeping. Chances are, it's going to be updated every other day or two from here on out. Still multiple chapters per week. Just not as many. Sorry, guys, this is just how it has to be.**

**Thing 2: It doesn't matter but I thought I'd say something- I changed my username. This new one is the one I started using when I got a little older- my "Roxianna" username had been around since before I was in middle school, and it makes me feel very young. It's been sooooooo many years since I created my "Roxi" name, that it feels weird to still be using it. Besides, I much prefer my "QuickWren" username. :)**

**With all that said and all the excuses given, please, enjoy! Let me know what you think! Let me know what you want to see happen!**

Week 8

Once Ruffnut had been sworn to secrecy, the newlyweds decided to inform the healer of Astrid's condition. With the recent stress from the wedding and the attack, Hiccup was adamant about checking both his wife and child's health. Personally, Astrid thought he was worrying over nothing. She felt fine! But since it was not just her health they were looking into, but her child's as well, she agreed to it.

Once the small family had casually informed the healer about Astrid's "special condition", Lindy examined the to-be mother, and confirmed that both her and her child were in perfect health. However, there was a mischievous gleam in the woman's eyes when she informed everyone that Astrid seemed to be about 8 weeks in. This was, of course, farther along than any of them had expected. How would they ever cover this up? It was one thing for them to lie and convince the village that the baby had been born a week or two early. It was another to try and tell them it was two months early!

Hiccup was frowning hard, but Astrid shrugged it off like it was nothing. She was worried too, of course, but she knew better than to freak out. It wouldn't help them any.

She turned to her husband, who had sat down beside her, and rubbed him reassuringly on the back. "It's okay, Hiccup."

"I just don't want to cause you any shame or embarrassment." His eyes were guilty when he turned to look at her.

The girl scoffed lightly and shrugged again. "We'll figure it out when the time comes." A smile pulled at her lips. "We always do."

Week 10

It was strange for her to wake up in the morning and not be alone.

Of course, Valka had not really felt alone when she was with the dragons. But she had never before been awakened by the sounds of clattering and shouting and laughter. It brought a smile to her face.

Was this what it felt like to be a part of a family? It had been 2 weeks since the weddings, and she was still getting used to the sounds of a fuller home.

Valka didn't have much time to think on it, because as she sat up in her bed, the door flew open and her son came tumbling in.

"Help, Mom," he called with a stupid grin on his face. "She's gone mad! She's going to kill me!"

It wasn't more than a second later when Astrid came charging in the door too, followed shortly by Toothless. In her hands, the girl gripped a pillow, and no one was surprised when it went flying across the room, clonking her husband solidly across the head. "Oh, I don't know if I'll kill you, but you might get maimed."

"Oy," Valka groaned, bemused. "What'd he do now?"

"He said he'd win in a dragon race! And well, duh, of course Toothless is faster than Stormfly!" The girl reached over to scratch the Night Fury along his jawline, and the dragon gave a content rumble. "But he thinks he'd be a faster flyer on Stormfly than I would be!" Astrid turned back to face her husband, slinging her arm to on her hip. With a mischievous grin, she boasted, "But who's the winner now?"

Hiccup let out a laugh and a shrug. "I said I'd win a race, not a pillow fight. Everyone knows you're the better fighter." The boy picked up the pillow that had previously collided with his skull and hurled it back at his new wife.

But before the pillow even had a chance to reach the girl, Toothless lunged forward and snapped it up into his teeth, sending a flurry of feathers through out the room. "Aw, bud, why'd you do that?" Hiccup said, running a hand through his hair. "I have to clean this up!"

The black dragon looked towards him, confusion in his eyes, then looked over to Astrid. He gave the girl a loving nuzzle and then looked back to his rider with a dragon-eske grin. The remains of the pillow still dangled in his mouth.

A small chuckle escaped Valka. As she reached up to pull a feather from her hair, she explained, "Oh, Toothless may not be as crazy as Stormfly, but he'll still protect Astrid with all his heart. Even if it's just a flyin' pillow."

"Ha. Toothless is on my side for pillow fights." Astrid threw her arms into the air and cried, "I'll always win! Victory!"

But her husband was not thinking about the pillow fight. Hiccup bit into his lip thoughtfully for a moment, before slowly asking, "Astrid, doesn't dragon training start in a few weeks?"

The younger kids in the village would begin learning how to work with and ride dragons soon. It had become a standard practice for the past 5 years. Typically, either Hiccup or Astrid would be their teacher.

The girl looked at him curiously. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Why?"

Hiccup wrinkled his nose. "We had already decided you'd be teaching this term, right? But if the dragons won't let you fight or anything, how exactly are you going to teach?" Astrid's lips parted slightly in understanding, but she did not speak. "Like, training isn't dangerous, but I doubt the dragons are going to be willing to let you demonstrate dangerous flight techniques or defensive fighting strategies. And those are really important."

"Huh." Astrid placed a hand under her jaw as she thought about it. "It wouldn't be feasible for you to teach it, what with all the new work you've come into as chief. And I don't know that I trust the twins or Snotlout with it."

"Fishlegs, maybe?" The boy had a sudden recollection of Fishlegs attempting to maneuver on his Gronkle and instead riding straight into a rock formation. The boy had broken his nose. "Maybe not."

"I'll do it," Valka said with a shrug. Her son turned to her, an ounce of surprise in his features. "Now that tha weddin' is over, I haven't got anything besides repairs to be workin' on."

"You sure, Mom? It's a lot of interaction with the villagers, and kids in Berk aren't exactly easy to handle." Hiccup knew his mom still wasn't comfortable with social interactions. And she had only just gotten home. He didn't want to put her out of her element.

But Valka would hear none of that. "Of course I'm sure, ye silly boy!" And though she wasn't as confident as she pretended to be, Valka had made up her mind. Besides, she wanted to feel more integrated at Berk again. How better to do that than this?

And so, in 2 weeks time, Valka became the dragon training teacher.


	18. Chapter 18

**Guys! I broke 200 favorites, and 300 followers! All on the day before my birthday! How awesome is that!? Seriously, I 3 you people!**

**So, there were a few reviews saying this story was taking too long, or that you just wanted the baby to come already. I agree- I don't really feel like wasting the time to wait 7 to 8 more months for this kid to pop out. Think of this chapter as my way to press the fast-forward button.**

**With all that said, I'll just add this: I really liked this chapter. It's one of my favorites so far. So be sure to tell me what you think! Read! Enjoy! Review!**

17 Weeks

"Aren't ye feelin' hot in that?"

When Astrid had shown up at his blacksmith shop wearing the largest, baggiest wool sweater he had ever seen, Gobber'd had to admit he was a tad surprised. True, it was normally very cold in Berk, but... it wasn't quite that cold. Not today, at least.

Astrid's expression had been one of surprise, and for a moment she'd been at a loss for words. It had taken her a few broken mumbles before she'd been able to stutter out, "What?" And even then, there was a peculiar expression on her face.

"Calm down, lass, it isn't an interrogation," the large man said with a crooked but confused smile. He lifted his arm- currently fashioned as a smithing hammer- and quickly pounded out a a dent in a sword he had just pulled from his forge, before the metal had a chance to cool. When he had finished, he continued. "I was just wonderin' why ye were dressed like ya were freezin', that's all. And it doesn't even fit ya."

He watched the girl shrug, and he got the feeling that she was trying too hard to be casual. "I guess I just hadn't thought about it," was the blonde's response. She looked uneasy.

Gobber chuckled and decided to cut her some slack. It didn't matter- what did he care what she wore? He dropped the topic and his hammer-hand, replacing his smithing tool with the more familiar hook-hand. Then, he turned to ask her, "So what can I do fer ye, girl?"

Her shoulders relaxed and when she replied, Astrid's smile seemed more natural. "Valka took over the dragon training a few weeks ago, and the session on defensive fighting is coming up soon. She hasn't used many weapons besides her staff in a few years, so I was hoping you'd be willing to help her?"

The large man let out a laugh. An excuse to play with axes and swords? Count him in! "Of course! I'd be delighted to!" He grinned and playfully poked the girl in the ribs, using his non-hook hand, of course. "I'm surprised yer letting me have all the fun!"

Astrid laughed, and there was a playful gleam in her eyes. "Count yourself lucky, Gobber. I'd be doing it if I could."

Though he was still chuckling, a slight frown formed on the man's face. He reached up and scratched his forehead with his hook. "Well, why can't ye?"

And again Astrid was lost for words. Gobber watched as she managed to spit out a hesitant "uhhhhhh," before she put a palm to her forehead. Astrid reached for the bridge of her nose, rubbed it thoughtfully, and sighed before throwing her arms up in the air. She turned to look at him, smiling, though her eyebrows were furrowed.

"Ye alright, girl?" Gobber was starting to really get concerned. She was acting very strange.

"I'm pregnant."

The smith went silent.

And then, "Wha...what?" was his response.

She pressed the baggy sweater down against her stomach, showing the outline of a faint but very real bump. "Yep."

As if this was his cue, the man sprung to life, giving a whooping cheer as he reached for Astrid, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Ye should have told me sooner!" He patted her firmly a couple times before pulling away so he could ruffle her hair. "That's great! So great! Aha! A blessing fer sure!"

And before Astrid had managed to get another word out, Gobber was off, cheering loudly through-out the village, to spread the good news.

Week 25

Thank the Gods the day was over.

She meant that. She really did. It felt good to be in bed.

Astrid was so tired. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. And she hadn't really done that much work today. Sure, she'd contributed where she could- nailing together boards for a new wall, or carving a family's crest into their refurbished door. But it was nothing compared to the work she used to do. If she could have it her way, she'd be hauling lumber up steep hills, carrying large stone tiles for miles, even climbing on roofs to help get everything in place.

But not now.

Stupid dragons. They wouldn't let her do anything. And she knew they were just trying to help, but whenever they took a material or tool from her, they destroyed it. Teeth and claws were not designed to be gentle. They were designed to crush and maul. And oh, they did. That poor lumber had never stood a chance.

But Astrid had a feeling that, even if the dragons hadn't been around, she'd have never gotten to help much anyways.

Because people were stupid too. After Gobber had spread the news, there wasn't a soul in the village that didn't know about the baby. Which wasn't so bad before, when she could hide the bump under baggy clothes. But there was no hiding it now. Since she'd been so tiny before, her belly was now considerably larger. Which so wasn't fair, because that bump seemed to read like a giant sign that screamed a stupid message like, "Protect me with you lives!" to everyone that wasn't her.

Which soooo wasn't her thing. She did NOT need to be protected.

And yet, no one would let her even touch a hammer or saw. She'd had to give a nasty glare and a growl to get them to let her keep her carving chisel so she could engrave a stupid door.

Astrid shoved her face into her pillow and let loose a frustrated groan.

"What's the matter?" Hiccup's voice was groggy as he sat up beside her in bed.

Astrid huffed again and turned to face her husband with tired eyes. "Sorry, did I wake you? Go back to bed."

The boy beside her chuckled and reached an arm out to rub her back, in an attempt to comfort her. "Not until you tell me what's wrong."

Astrid felt tears prick at her eyes. Damn, why was she crying? She was just so annoyed! Not to mention she felt bad for worrying Hiccup. "Nothing's wrong. Go to sleep."

"Woah," muttered Hiccup, his voice startled. "Are you crying? You never cry."

And a few more tears leaked out as Astrid started to laugh. He just sounded so surprised- why was that funny?

"Annnnnnd you're laughing. And crying. At the same time. Good." Hiccup frowned heavily. "I have no idea what that means."

His wife laughed harder and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'm just really tired, Hun. It's nothing, I swear."

"Uh...huh." Hiccup reached up to wipe a few more tears from the girl's face. "It doesn't look like it's nothing."

"It is. Really."

"If it's nothing, then why are you crying?"

"Hiccup, I swear, I'm fine."

"What if I don't believe you?"

"Hiccup," Astrid growled, an edge to her voice. She was no longer laughing. "It's nothing. I'm JUST tired."

The boy's eyes widened. "Oh good. Now you're angry."

Astrid's eyes narrowed at him.

The boy leaned back, sighing in defeat. "You'd think I'd know by now that you're always right." He turned to look at her and tossed her a crooked smile. "Okay- it's nothing. You're fine."

And just like that, his smile made her feel warm again. Astrid grinned back and curled up closer to her true love. "Good. You're learning." She was smiling as she drifted off to sleep again.

Tomorrow would be better. She really was just tired.

Week 33

He wandered, numb, though the still flaming wreckage, watching the fresh ashes as they danced in the sky. Smoke billowed in the air, obscuring the stars and dimming the moon. The night was dark.

This was all his fault.

A speck of ash brushed along his cheek, smearing a long grey-black streak across it. Hiccup reached up mindlessly to brush it off, which only succeed in smudging it more.

His mother had already taken the new dragon to the arena to try and calm it down. Because even though it had managed to destroy a sizable portion of Berk, it still was not content. And even though Toohless had successfully pinned it, claiming victory in this battle for dominance, this one still wanted to fight.

People could have been killed. Fate had been on their side today- no injuries. Next time they might not be so lucky.

And when someone got hurt, or worse, _killed_, it would be all his fault.

Because these combatants, these foes, these foolish dragons, they were all coming for him and Toothless. But when it came down to it, they'd take down anyone else who got in their way, too. No one was safe.

Hiccup ambled towards the arena, his thoughts a jumbled mess of guilt and fear. When he entered, he saw his wife and mother there. The dragon, who'd spent the morning making many of the villagers homeless, was securely behind bars, tied up by Valka and stared down by Toothless.

As he approached, Astrid looked up, and when their eyes met, she smiled, making his heart skip a beat. The warmth her love gave him was the first real emotion he'd had for hours. His wife's hand was resting on her stomach. She was really getting big now.

Astrid. The baby.

He was putting them both in danger.

"Hey," Astrid said with a smile. There was a tinge of worry in her voice. "You feeling okay?"

Hiccup didn't reply. He didn't know what he was feeling.

"I should leave Berk."

"What?" was the immediate response from both females before him.

"Hiccup, ye can't be serious!" his mother raised an arm, throwing it out to her side.

Astrid's reaction was not as vivid. All the could manage was a quiet, "Why?"

Her husband looked at her, surprise causing his eyebrows to furrow. Was Astrid upset? "It's not safe if I stay. The dragons just keep coming. If I leave, no one else could get hurt."

"Don't be stupid, boy!" Valka shouted, her fists in tight balls at her sides. "Ye can't do this all on yer own! Ye'll be killed, tryin' ta fight them alone! We are here to help you!"

"I don't want to see anyone get hurt because of me," was his only reply.

"Hiccup," Astrid said, causing his eyes to shift back to her. "What about me? What about the baby?"

"The baby? Astrid, don't you see! That's exactly why!" Hiccup cried, pushing a shaking hand through his dirty, ash-streaked hair. "What if something happened to one of you?! What would I do without you?!" His voice was shaking, and his head felt like it was spinning. He exhaled hard, trying to calm himself. It was too hard to think. He was getting too worked up. He needed to calm down. He exhaled again before murmuring, "What would I do?"

"Hiccup. That's never going to happen." Astrid took a step forward, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll be okay. I promise. Just... stay."

Hiccup looked her in the eyes and swallowed hard.

"Okay."


	19. Chapter 19

**I hope it's not weird if I keep using my readers' names in my story haha. I'm bad at coming up with them, and I think it's fun. **

**Also, I'm so thrilled this chapter is here. I've been waiting for it since the very beginning ;)**

Week 36

The day was growing closer now, and every time he looked at Astrid and her growing stomach, he could hear his heart pounding heavy in his chest.

Though whether it was beating so hard out of fear or excitement, Hiccup couldn't say.

He was headed towards the training arena, lost in his thoughts.

There hadn't been another dragon attack in weeks, thank the Gods. He didn't know what he would do if there had been. Leave? Fight? Hide? None of them felt like good options. But what other choice did he have?

The sinking feeling in the pit of his gut told him it was wrong of him to stay.

But as he arrived at arena, where his mother and wife were preparing the trainees, Hiccup couldn't imagine a life for himself outside of Berk.

Valka was wrestling with a couple of the larger teens, and doing a mighty fine job of it too. Even though there was two of them, and girl and a boy who were both hulking creatures, Valka had managed to pin both teenagers with relative skill and ease. And everyone was having a good time- both kids were laughing and smiling.

Off on the side lines, Astrid was thoughtlessly braiding one of the smaller girl's hair, explaining the intricacies of a particularly difficult flight maneuver while the girl skimmed through the description of it within the dragon manual. The was a pair of large, circular glass frames slipping down her nose. The mother-to-be's stomach was so large that she had to extend her arms completely to reach the girl's hair, even though the braid was heavy, thick, and at least 3 feet long. But Astrid didn't seem to notice or mind the strain it put on her arms. She'd always done what was expected of her without a hint of complaint, even if it was something as trivial as fixing a braid. She was a good mentor. Always dependable.

Hiccup knew that was what would make her a great mother.

The young chief let out a breathy sigh. His family meant everything to him. He didn't want to go anywhere. How could he possible leave?

"Hey," he called out as he went to sit beside his wife. "How's training going?" Conversation was a good distraction, right? He didn't want to think about dragon attacks.

Astrid didn't look up from her moving hands, but replied, "Pretty good. I'm glad you came, though. Keke here's one of our top riders, and I'm running out of answers for some of her questions. You'd probably do a better job of explaining than me."

The long-haired girl, Keke, did not wait for an introduction. Instead, she blurted out, "I'm the best rider, actually. I win every race."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Yeah? You think you could beat me?"

Keke wrinkled her nose, an angry pout setting on her lips. "Maybe not today. But give me a few weeks! I'll be faster than lightening!"

The new chief let out a laugh and patted the girl on the head. "Alright, you're on!" The reply he got was an angry breath as Keke shook her head in an attempt to knock his hand away. She was trying to look annoyed, but the girl could not hide her smile. It was clear she was not really upset.

A shout from one of the other students pulled Hiccup's attention away, and when he looked up, he saw his mother forcing a large boy down, her elbow digging sharp between his shoulder blades. "Ye shouldn't be so casual with an opponent, boy. Ye knew we were fightin'." The woman removed her elbow from his back and offered a hand to help him stand. "Now ye know not ta turn yer back on a foe."

The boy stood, shaking the dirt off his chest, before spitting onto the ground. A large blob of blood mixed with the spit, and the red liquid began to leak out of the corner of his mouth. The teen muttered a surprised curse, before sticking a finger into his mouth. "I thhhink I almosssstt bit offffff part a my tongueee," he spit out.

Valka blinked in surprise, and Hiccup approached them, pulling the boy's finger out of his mouth. "Hey!" the teen cried, but Hiccup ignored him, instead placing a hand on the boy's chin and pulling his jaw down. The boy's mouth was pooling with blood.

"You've got to be more careful, Mom," the chief said was a grimace. "His mouth's a mess."

"Aye, I hadn't realized. He musta bit himself when I pinned him."

"He'll survive," Hiccup said with a shrug, releasing the boy. "But I'll take him to the healer to get him stitched up. No need to leave it and let it get worse."

The boy groaned, and again Hiccup ignored him. As the two moved to exit the arena, the boy whined, "I don't want to go to the healer. I wanna stay and fight."

"Too bad." They didn't need any injuries. With all the dragon attacks lately, the village needed as many healthy hands available as possible. If the wound got infected, it could be serious.

As they exited the arena, Hiccup watched to make sure the boy was stable, and not in too much pain. He didn't want him passing out before they reached the healer's hut. At least there were other people around- if he needed help carrying him, Hiccup could get it. But he was worried for nothing. The boy seemed fine.

The crossed the village, nearly approaching the healer's home. They were moving slow but their pace was steady. They were nearly there.

And then Hiccup felt the air pressure change, and his stomach dropped.

Not now.

There was a streak in the sky, so fast it hurt to try to watch. A piercing roar echoed through-out the wreckage of Berk. A new dragon was upon them.

It's screeching call chilled Hiccup's very soul. Because it was a sound that he would know anywhere, a sound that resonated in his bones- in his very being.

He knew what this was.

He and Toothless should have left when they could have, and spared the other villagers from such a horrible death. Sacrificing themselves would have been better than this.

Not this.

Anything but this.

Now they'd all be obliterated.

"Get down!" came a distressed call from behind them.

"Night Fury!"

**Tell me what you think ;)**


	20. Chapter 20

**It's a little past 2 am here. Why am I awake? Who knows.**

**Here, have an update. I hope you like it.**

The enemy dragon was barely even a black streak across the sky, it was moving so fast. Where was Toothless? The attacking Night Fury would be headed for him. Hiccup took off running, searching frantically for his friend. By the Gods, where WAS he?! He had to find him! Toothless couldn't fly on his own, and if he was trapped on the ground, he wasn't much good in a fight. And this was a fight they needed to win, for everyone's sakes. If they didn't, this foe would destroy all of Berk. Hiccup had to find Toothless. Where could he possibly be?!

And then it hit him- the dragon would be where he always was these days.

At Astrid's side, protecting her and the baby.

Hiccup's blood ran cold. The attacker would be headed straight for them.

As he turned to sprint frantically towards the arena where he knew his wife to be, the sky above the young chief flashed dark. The beast was above him- massive!- blotting out the sun. And then, as fast as the darkness had fallen, the light was back. Because the incoming Night Fury was diving straight towards the arena.

Hiccup wasn't going to make it in time.

There was an echoing roar and a booming crash as the creature swooped upwards, then dove, right through the metal caging around the outside of the training grounds, sending a burst of shrapnel flying in all directions. There was a startled scream from within- one of the kids?- and a fierce roar of anger, that Hiccup recognized as Toothless. The boy pushed himself harder, sprinting to the entrance of the arena with all his might.

The sight before him when he reached the gates took his breath away.

Toothless and the new foe were in the center of the arena, their snouts almost touching, smoke and fumes billowing from both of their jaws. Toothless was crouched down, his scales glowing a fierce blue, and flames were beginning to lick out of the corners of his mouth. The air around him seemed to crackle, the dragon was so tense. The attacking Night Fury was far calmer, it's head held high and shoulder's straight and squared- in control. It's scales were dimmer, grayer, older, but it's size alone proved it to be a formidable opponent. It was a least double Toothless's size, if not larger- an ancient and mighty beast. The Night Fury was clearly prepared for an attack, but it did not look positioned to strike, as Toothless was. It eyed the smaller Night Fury warily, keeping the fumes in it's mouth prepared, but it did not crouch to strike.

Toothless whipped his tail about in anger, and the movement caught Hiccup's eye, pulling his attention to the back end of the arena. Positioned behind his dragon was his mother and wife, who were huddled protectively in front of the children. Keke was gripping onto Astrid's arm, and her body language said she was frightened, though her face was brave. Valka was calm but cautious, acting slowly to try and maneuver the children towards an exit.

A growl ripped through the air, and Hiccup turned back to watch as Toothless lunged forward, trying to push their new foe back. The enemy Night Fury did not seem shaken- it lifted an impressive claw and batted the smaller Night Fury away, knocking Toothless to the dirt. The gravel and dust shot up, mushrooming around the fallen dragon, and Toothless let out the most feral snarl Hiccup had ever heard. His friend surged upward, striking unexpectedly, and temporarily unbalanced the larger dragon. Darting backwards, Toothless bared his teeth and let out another roar.

"Hiccup!" The boy turned, and saw his mother calling to him. "Get those two outta here," she motioned to the dragons, "away from tha children! Astrid and I'll get these kids ta safety, then after I'll take ta the sky ta help ya!"

The boy nodded. She was right. If he could distract the attacking Night Fury for long enough, his mother could get the kids out of danger and then get to CloudJumper. His mother was an experienced and talented rider. With her and CloudJumper's help, they might stand a chance. Maybe.

It was their only hope.

The chief took off running, reaching Toothless's side just in time to watch the flammable fumes within the attacker's throat swell up. Mounting his dragon, Hiccup cried, "To the sky, bud!" just in time. As they took off, the larger Night Fury's head snapped upward too, launching a sharp burst of flame into Toothless's left leg. The dragon roared in pain but continued to fly- it was an injury he'd easily survive. If they had stayed on the ground, that shot could have seriously hurt, if not killed, one of the kids, or Astrid and Valka. It was best to pull their foe's attention away from their family.

With an arial twist and a burst of speed, Toothless took off towards the ocean, trying to distance himself from the village.

Valka watched her son fly off at the speed of sound, a hard knot forming in her throat. He'd be okay- she believed it in her core. She only needed a few moments, and then she'd be able to hurry and help. If Hiccup could buy her a few seconds, that would be all the time she'd need.

"Alright, ye lot. Scatter ta safety, let's go."

Keke, whose hands were still firmly gripping into Astrid's arm, frowned at her feet, then wrinkled her nose. Ignoring Valka, she looked up to Astrid and, with an air of disgust, asked, "Did you pee yourself?"

Valka's eyes went wide. Oh no. Not now.

She might not be as free to help as she had hoped.

Astrid's hands were shaking lightly, and her shoulders were tense. There were tears in her eyes when she spoke.

"My water just broke."

**Let me know what you think.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Long chapter for you today, guys.**

The wind seared at his eyes, making them burn so strongly that they were beginning to water. Of course he'd left his flying mask at home, instead if storing it in Toothless's saddle. That was just his luck. But Hiccup didn't even think of slowing down. Instead, he leaned down as close as he could into Toothless's back, trying to be as aerodynamic as was physically possible. The faster they flew, the faster they could get away from Berk, and the faster they could fight to protect their home and loved ones.

Trying to keep low, Hiccup twisted around, eyeing the clouds behind them warily as the skyline whipped past. If there was one type of dragon that Hiccup really understood, it was the Night Fury. So he felt confident that their foe possessed the skill and ability to follow after them. Their attacker was surely near by. They just had to find it.

As it turned out, tracking the other Night Fury was less of a challenge than the young chief had anticipated.

Like a dark curse from the Gods above, the beast was upon them. It swooped up their left side, it's wingspan blotting out the sky, a sickening, unnatural ashy-grey. It's massive head was mere feet away, and it's leg brushed against Toothless's left wingtip. The smaller Night Fury tucked into a roll, trying to distance himself and maintain control of the situation. Toothless pulled his wings in tight and dove further still, trying to get lower.

"Get ready, bud." The enemy Night Fury had righted itself, and was directly above them now. If it dove to attack, they'd have to be on their toes if they wanted to dodge it.

A deep, echoing roar escaped their attacker, and it spiraled down, as fast as a streak of lightening. It missed their right side by inches. And then, moments later, it was back at their left side. This time, instead of merely brushing Toothless's left wingtip, it reached out a forceful swipe, knocking the smaller dragon backward. Toothless let out a feral growl and lunged out to bite into their foe, but missed, since the older dragon spiraled down, easily dodging.

"What is it doing?!" Hiccup cried into his best friend's ear as the enemy swooped upwards, once again batting at the smaller dragon's left side. "It's not making any straight forward attacks! Is it playing with us?! It's only going for your left side! What does that mean?!"

If Hiccup had planned to say anything more, he lost his chance. Because as he opened his mouth to speak, the enemy let out a deafening screech, the sound echoing his eardrums and shaking his bones. The beast darted upward, swiping at Toothless's left side, once again, before it flipped around in mid-air. After a twist and another, albeit softer, roar, the ancient Night Fury lowered it's speed and pulled up to their right side.

It flew level with them, growling in an undertone, but watching them calmly. It made no move to attack, and when Hiccup looked over at it, he could see it's eyes were soft, quiet.

His lips parted, but Hiccup could find no words.

Was it not trying to fight? Then what was it doing!?

The boy could feel Toothless beginning to rumble, and knew his friend was preparing to launch a fire strike. "No, bud," Hiccup murmured, placing a gentle hand along his friend's neck. "Not yet. Let's wait."

And when he looked back up at the enemy, it blinked at him, as if in understanding.

It wouldn't strike if they didn't.

"What do you want?!" Hiccup cried into the wind, hoping his words would carry.

The great Night Fury blinked again and nodded it's head left.

"Left?" What was that supposed that mean?! "I don't understand. What's left?"

A puff of smoke escaped their foe, and an irritated growl rumbled in it's chest. This creature had no patience. It darted it's head towards the left again.

"I don't know what you're trying to say!" Hiccup reached up, pushing his hands into his hair in frustration. As an act of desperation, he called out, "Can you show me?"

This seemed to content the beast, because it nodded, then dove down, towards the left. After a short distance, it looked back at them.

"Oh," Hiccup muttered quietly. "Left. It wants us to go left." Leaning down to speak into Toothless's ear again, the boy said, "Follow it, buddy. Let's see where this takes us."

Toothless have a low groan, and smoke puffed from his nose in anxiousness and irritation. The younger Night Fury was not so quick to trust- not when his family was in danger.

But he did as his rider asked.

They headed off towards the horizon, skimming low to the water, letting the salt and mist lick at their skin. As the distance grew, their speed picked up, as if the dragon before them was moving with a growing urgency. Something was making it anxious.

As they traveled, Hiccup tried his hardest to examine the Night Fury before him. After all, he had no idea what would become of Toothless, when he grew older. This might be his only chance to see a Night Fury so grown.

The creature was a dark, dim grey, which seemed unusual, now that Hiccup took the time to consider it- Toothless was a sleek, shiny black. Was this lightening in color a sign of aging? But none of the other older dragons he knew had faded in their shading any. Peculiar. Perhaps it was a Night Fury thing?

Additionally, when he watched it carefully, he could sometimes see a flicker of light glowing beneath it's scales. Though, while Toothless's glow was a florescent blue, this dragon's was a deep, ominous purple. What did that mean? Was the color hereditary? Or did it signify some special trait? Hiccup couldn't say.

Also, though it wasn't easily apparent, it did seem as though this ancient Night Fury had larger, wider back hips. This was one trait Hiccup understood- it was a common characteristic in female dragons. Larger hips were better for baring eggs. If he'd had to take a guess, Hiccup would say this Night Fury was a she.

As if to pull Hiccup from his thoughts, the older Night Fury suddenly adjusted it's wings and shot upwards, high into the sky. It made no sense- they were surrounded by water for miles!- but Hiccup patted Toothless gently on the side, as if to indicate that they should follow. And then, as the two pulled upwards, to follow into the clouds, they were shocked as the older dragon rushed past them. It was diving now, straight into the water. "What? Where is she going?!"

Toothless made a swift twist, as if to rearrange. Then, he followed the larger dragon down.

"Don't let me drown, bud!" Hiccup cried as the water approached them. He managed one big gulp of air before they hit the ocean.

As they sank into the sea, time seemed to stop. Everything felt slow motion.

The sight before them was incredible. Who'd have ever guessed with brilliance was just a few meters under the water. Was this place magic?

Before them flickered florescent white stone, twinkling like stars, leading to the entrance to an underwater cave. They stones twinkled like they were dancing, giving life to the barren depth of the ocean. Their light glimmered like ice in the sun, and called to them, pulling them in closer.

As they admired the sight with awe, with a small bubble of shocked air escaping Hiccup's lips, they saw the dark twisting shape of the female Night Fury as she pushed through the water. She was making her way towards the glowing stones.

When he felt his rider wrap a tight arm around his neck, Toothless gave a strong kick with his back legs and floated after. As the female approached the stones, they began flickering faster, subtly but surely changing to glow in the same mysterious purple tone of her under glow. The color grew brighter as she passed, and faded as she made her way into the cave.

Hiccup eyed the cave warily- if it didn't lead to air shortly, entering would ensure he'd drown. He put a firm palm against Toothless's side. He'd do it. For his best friend- who knew when they'd find another Night Fury again. This may be their only chance.

The smaller Night Fury gave a vigorous nod, and pushed into the cave, following the female's lead. As they approached the stones, they dimmed briefly, then began to glisten in Toothless's shinning blue.

They swam trough the cave, the star-stones dancing in their blue color, leading them inwards.

And then, moments later, they surfaced.

A shaky gasp pulled into Hiccup's lungs as he breathed in a full breath of air. The air was sweet and moist, and left an earthy taste on his tongue. The ground before them was hot and mossy, like a quilt laid out before a fire, and the light-providing stones still lined the ceiling and walls of the cavern they had entered. There were small holes in the ceiling- Hiccup could see the light poking through- so he knew there was fresh air available to them.

Fascinating.

Glancing around, Hiccup saw the ancient female across the cavern, at the edge of a steep cliff. It was watching them, quiet and morose. Hiccup stared back.

He didn't know what to think.

He held contact with the female for a moment more. Then, the creature gave a snort and turned to look out over the cliff's edge.

Hiccup looked towards his friend- the smaller, male Night Fury was shaking himself, trying to get the water out from beneath his saddle. The chief turned back at the older dragon, and then took a few short steps towards it, cautiously. He wanted to see what it was looking at, on the other side of the cliff.

But when he approached the edge, the young man wished he hadn't. He'd have been better off not knowing.

There were some things he had never wanted to see.

A puff of hot smoke rolling across his back told him Toothless was close behind. The Viking turned, frantic now, and placed a pair of urging hand on his best friend's head. "No, bud, no! Don't look! Please, Toothless, you don't want to look!"

But it was too late. With a strong step forward, Toothless moved to look over the edge of the cliff, knocking Hiccup to his knees.

And when he saw what lay in the bed of the cavern, Toothless was filled with grief. The small Night Fury let loose a low, mournful groan, that echoed and welled around the edges of the cave, filling Hiccup's stomach with sadness.

The boy would have done anything to keep his friend from seeing that.

Within the cavern lay the corpses of two fallen Night Furies, in a sickly state of decay. Their scales were an ashy white and their wings were worn through, tattered and damaged.

Hiccup fell backward from his knees, landing solidly, so that he was sitting in a moist bed of moss. His fists curled at his side, and he had to pull his knees up, so he could rest his head on them. Tears were pricking at his eyes. He'd never wanted to see that. It was painful enough to think Toothless was alone in this world. It was worse to have his kin's death rubbed in their faces.

Anger burned at his throat, and Hiccup could not contain it any longer. His head snapped up, looking towards the older dragon, and their was a fire gleaming in his eyes when he spoke.

"Why would you bring us here?!"


	22. Chapter 22

**This chapter might be off-putting to some people- it's long and emotional. Don't get discouraged. Please read it to the end!**

"Well?! Do something!"

But despite the young Viking chief's shouts, the ancient Night Fury did not stir. Her gaze stayed fastened into the chasm, her eyes empty of emotion as they fell upon the broken bodies of her deceased kin. The stillness consumed her, as if she was carved from stone. There was no emotion left inside her. She had already mourned so much, she had nothing left to give. The pain had left her numb.

"Why did you BRING us here!?" cried Hiccup again towards the dragon, a tear slipping from each eye. To him, it did not look as if the dragon was grieving. No, to him, it appeared as if she was ignoring them. Why? Why wouldn't she listen? Didn't she care?! Why wouldn't she do something already?! He rubbed the escaping tears from his eyes with a clenched fist. "Why?! What happened to them?"

A sickening thought hit him, and his voice was low, full of disgust, when he voiced it.

"Did you kill them?"

A piercing screeched seared from the elder dragon's throat, and suddenly she was no longer of stone, but rather lava, for her anger burned so hot. She took one forceful step towards him, teeth bared and fire bubbling in the back of her throat.

Apparently Hiccup had struck a nerve.

The female lowered her head and let loose a deep, echoing growl. Her eyes bore into Hiccup's, and they were challenging and strong. The boy did not back down- he was far too upset to concede. He held her gaze, his eyes narrowing and his shoulders tensing. The chief knew he was not standing alone in this battle of will- behind his back, he could feel Toothless's hot breathe, and hear his friend beginning to release a low, hostile grumble in his chest as well.

The female's eyes darted between the two of them, looking them up and down, before she released a tired huff of air from her nose and shook her head. She took a step back, and turned to gaze out over the cliff's edge once more. As she examined the cavern's floor again, her eyes dropped and an air of loss fell over her.

Hiccup knew he had been wrong to make such a horrible assumption about the dragon, despite how upset he had been, and so he gave the female a moment to recollect herself. In this time, his anger began to fade. However, the irritation and confusion remained. Time ticked by as he waited for her to move again, but the Night Fury did not stir.

After several long minutes had passed, Hiccup spoke up. "Hey, we're still here. You know that, right?" The female did not turn to acknowledge him. Hiccup's eyes narrowed in frustration. "If you don't start explaining soon, we won't be staying." This caught the female's attention, because her head swooped over to look at the two friends again. The boy shrugged slightly. "We can't stay here forever."

As Hiccup moved to stand, the female gave out a deep, heartbreaking moan. Once he was on his feet, the viking turned to look at her. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm his frustrated nerves, before releasing a shaky breathe.

"Last chance," he said, his voice quiet now. "Explain. Or we're gone."

The female nodded, and though the sadness gleaming in her eyes showed it was the last thing she wanted to do, she walked over to the cliff's edge and dove in.

Hiccup took a few slow steps forward- just because he knew what he'd be seeing this time didn't mean he was any more prepared to face the sight of the fallen dragons. When he reached the edge of the cavern, he gripped the side and began sliding down the shallow edge, following after the female, moving towards the very things he wanted so badly to run from. He could hear Toothless unfurling his wings behind him, and moments later the male Night Fury was in his line of sight, gliding to the bottom of the cavern as well. He dodged a dark, deep pool of water beside the wall of the edge, and walk a few yards to where his best friend had landed.

They had reached the Night Fury corpses.

A wave of sadness washed over the boy as he examined the remains more closely. The scales of the two dragons' bodies were a pale-ashy color, and in some splotchy places the color was so faded that the scales were nearly transparent. In these spots, the dead creature's veins were faintly visible, white beneath the surface, like their blood had turned to ice.

Hiccup reached a hand out hesitantly, and his fingertips airily brushed a scale. It felt brittle to the touch, like it could crumble and float away in the wind.

"What is this?" he asked, more to himself. His brow furrowed, and with pursed lips, he turned to face the female. "This isn't natural, is it?"

The female gave a low whine and shook her head. No. This fate was not natural.

"It's not a sign of aging, right?" The female breathed a heavy sigh and nodded. Not age. Healthy Night Furies were a sleek black, even in death. Hiccup bit his lip, his nose wrinkling. "So this is a disease?" A small bob of the head was the female's response.

Illness had stollen her family from her.

The boy shook his head slowly, pity welling in his chest. "I'm so sorry," was all he could think to say.

The sound of unfurling wings drew his attention, and when Hiccup looked up, he saw the grown dragon lifting her left wing high in the air, exposing the joint where her wing met her back.

The patch of scales there was translucent and white. Her veins were glimmering silver, visible beneath the surface.

The air escaped Hiccups lungs. It took him a moment before he could speak.

He understood.

"You have it too."

The female lowered her wing slowly, blinking in confirmation.

Finally, things made sense. He had noticed she was very pale. And that explained why she'd brought them here. She needed their help. But what were they supposed to do?

"How? How did this happen?"

An angry snort escaped the female's snout, and a moment later she spit a burst of fire into the pool of water Hiccup had previously avoided. "The water?" Hiccup frowned lightly. "There's something in it?" The female snorted. Yes, that was right.

Hiccup continued. "And the water's what killed them?" He motioned towards the fallen dragons before them. Then , he grew quiet. His voice barely a whisper, Hiccup said, "And now that you've figured it out, it's... It's too late?"

The female nodded, a calm confirmation.

There was a moment of silence within the cave, and Hiccup leaned back to rest against Toothless's leg. The human ran a shaky hand through his hair, staring at his feet tiredly. What was he supposed to do? He didn't have a cure for this! He had never even seen this sort of thing before! He didn't have any answers to give!

He wanted to help. But what was he supposed to do?

Finally, the boy gathered his courage and looked up again, meeting the female's eyes. "I'm sorry," he said again, a hard knot in his throat. "I don't know how to help you."

The dragon gave a heavy snort, as if it were laughing sadly.

This was not why she'd brought them here.

She shook her head briefly, as if to tell the viking that he was mistaken. Then, the ancient Night Fury used her tail to direct the the rider and his dragon's attention to another section of the cavern.

At the far end of the chasm was a bed of dark , glowing hot coals and crispy, charred straw.

As Hiccup took a few steps closer, the full structure came into sight. And when he saw it fully, and understood what it was, his body froze in shock, and his heart nearly stopped.

It was a nest.

Within the neat was a bundle of five or six eggs. Sadly, their shells were grey and transparent and saggy. He could tell just by looking at them that they were not capable of supporting life.

But at the very back of the nest, he could barely see a glimmer of smooth, shiny black.

"No," the boy whispered. "It can't be."

As he finally managed to take a final step forward, he found his hopes confirmed.

At the very end, the smallest of the eggs was firm and black.

Right before him lay a tiny, but healthy, Night Fury egg.

**Let me know what you think.**


	23. Chapter 23

**3 AM update! I am posting now and then I am sleeping until I can sleep no more! Yay!**

**Enjoy!**

With shaking legs and shallow breathes, Hiccup nervously climbed into the nest. The warmth of the coals lining the floor soaked into his boots, and the gentle burn served to prove that he was awake and this was real- there was no pain in dreams. But Hiccup did not resent the glowing heat. If he had to, he'd gladly walk the surface of the sun for the opportunity that laid before him. The challenge of the coals was nothing, when the prize was so grand.

The Night Fury egg was a precious treasure, and it shined brighter in his eyes than the rarest gem. It was worth any hardship.

Hiccup approached the egg, crouched down, and stretched out a hesitant arm, allowing his fingertips to barely wisp at the shell. As though he feared it would fade away, the boy pulled his arm back the instant he made contact. And yet, there was no magic puff of smoke- the egg was still there, genuine.

A hard knot formed in his throat. Righting himself, the young chief turned to face the female Night Fury. When their eyes met, both froze.

There was heartbreak in the dragon's eyes.

"You want me to take it, right? Away from here, before the water can hurt it like it has the others?" The female closed her eyes, slow and deliberate, and dipped her head. Yes.

Save her baby.

Hiccups lips parted, as if to speak, but he could find no words. What possible comfort could he offer this grieving mother? His child wasn't even born yet and he knew there was nothing in the world that could make him give it up! And yet, here was this ancient, wise creature, betraying her every instinct and desire, for the sake of her child. Though it pained her to her core, she was willing to selflessly fall to her death alone, to prevent dragging her baby down with her. What could he possible say to her? What words could he offer to heal that pain?

There were none.

So instead, he offered her the best option he could give. "You could come with, and live in our village. My mother is wise with dragons. She may have a cure, or at least a method to delay the progress of the disease. Come with us." Toothless clicked in agreement.

A snort was the female's reply, and she gently glided into her nest. She used her snout to press into Hiccup's side, pushing him towards the egg. The boy frowned but nodded, lifting the egg gently into his arms. Then he climbed from the nest and watched the female lie herself down and wrap her tail around the remaining, sickly eggs, pulling them in close to her side.

She snorted again and peered at the two friends with emotionless eyes, as if to say, "Let my final sleep be with my family." There was no desire in her to leave them. It had been hard enough giving up one child. Don't ask her to do it again. Even though these remaining babies would never take a single breathe, she would not leave their sides.

Hiccup nodded stiffly and swallowed hard. The female had made her choice, and he could respect it. She'd proven herself unnervingly noble to her end.

Moving everything he had packed from the left side of Toothless's saddle into the right side, Hiccup began packing the empty bag with dirt, to create a lining before he put in a layer of hot coal. Just because the saddle was fire and water proof didn't mean the boy was willing to risk letting the coal burn through. The dirt should act as a sufficient temporary barrier. Then, the boy gently placed the egg on top of the coal in the saddle, before covering it with a protective layer of straw. With heavy hearts, the two bid a quiet farewell to the female and dove into the ocean water, following the starlit stones out.

The female watched them leave solemnly. When Toothless was far enough away that he was no longer visible within the water, she blinked out a few loose tears from her eyes. She knew she'd likely never leave this cave again.

The two friends broke the surface of the water moments later, sending a splatter of salty droplets in all directions. Toothless took to the sky at top speeds, quickly pushing himself straight upward until they were high above the clouds. Then, he leveled off and shot straight towards the direction of Berk.

Meanwhile, his rider was torn. His heart still ached for the female, who was as noble as a God and as humble as a mortal. Her loss was truly tragic. However, Hiccup would be lying if he didn't admit to himself that he was excited. An egg! A Night Fury egg! What did this mean for them?! Could they save the race?! If the baby was a female, would it be a suitable mate for Toothless? Hiccup frowned heavily at the thought. A twenty year age difference was a large discrepancy, even in dragons, who were ancient creatures. Besides, two dragons surely could not rebuild an entire population. And if the egg was male, then their hope of babies was completely diminished.

The more Hiccup thought on in, the more his hopes fell. The Night Fury species was still doomed.

A sad smile tugged at Hiccup's lips. At least his best friend wouldn't be alone anymore.

As Toothless skimmed the clouds at his highest speed, the moisture licking at his underbelly, Berk faded into sight. As they grew closer, the dragon perked his head up, then dove towards the healer's hut, where he could see CloudJumper pacing outside.

As they drew closer, Hiccup could see his mother leaning into CloudJumper's side, a ragged look in her eyes, and a tired hand in her hair. She looked up, eyes wide, when the two drew close.

Dismounting as soon as Toothless touched the ground, her son turned to Valka and called out, "You will never believe what happened! It was terrifying, but...but...but fantastic!"

Valka exhaled a shaky laugh. "Aye, yer not the only one who's havin' a terrifyingly fantastic day, boy. I'd say we've been havin' a little more exciting time here."

"No, you don't understand!" Hiccup shook his head fiercely. "This is unbelievable! Look!"

The boy began to pace away from his mother, towards Toothless's saddle bag. "No, Hiccup, dear. Yer the one who doesn't understand." The boy did not seem to be paying attention. He was removing clumps of singed straw from the leather pouch. "Hiccup, listen to me. Hiccup!"

As the boy lifted something heavy from the pouch and turned, Valka gave a frustrated cry.

"Yer wife went into labor!"

When they were finally facing each other, both mother and son's eyes went wide.

"Is that a Night Fury egg?" Valka barely managed to whisper.

Hiccup's reaction was not so calm. "What?!" he cried, his heart beginning to pound. "Astrid's in labor! But...she's two weeks early! Isn't that bad?! That BAD, right?! What does that mean?! How's the baby?!"

Valka's eyes were wide and her thoughts were frazzled- completely gone. She'd already had an emotionally draining day as it was. The sight of the Night Fury egg had pushed her over the edge. Her mind was in melt down.

"Mom, what's happening!?" Valka's eyes flickered between her son and the egg, but she remained voiceless. Hiccup gave a frustrated groan and shoved the egg into her arms. "Guard it with your life!" he cried as he rushed into the healer's hut, and pushed his way past a frantic Camille into the back room. If his mother wasn't going to speak, he'd take matters into his own hands.

Though, admittedly, he hadn't been prepared for the sight before him.

The old women of the village were liars. Birth was, in fact, NOT a beautiful thing. Honestly, it was far from it- messy and gory and downright horrific.

"Oohhhhh Gods!" The boy turned abruptly on his heel, away from the shocking process before him.

"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed at the sight of her startled husband. "Turn back around! You are NOT leaving, you hear me! You did this to me and now you have to STAY HERE WITH ME, or I swear to the Gods above I will murder you! MURDER YOU!" When Hiccup turned back to face her, he was shocked to see the tears streaking from Astrid's eyes. "This really freaking hurts, you hear me! THIS FREAKING HURTS!"

Hiccup inhaled a sharp, heavy breathe, held it, then let it all out at once. "Right. I'm not going anywhere! Just...wasn't ready. I'm ready now!"

Trying to keep calm, the father to-be rushed to Astrid's side and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it with all her might, and by the Gods did it hurt, but the boy knew better than to complain.

Together, hand in painful hand, the young couple welcomed their first child into the world.

**Your reviews mean the world to me, guys. I read them all and genuinely consider what you have to say. So thank you! **

**Let me know what you think!**


	24. Chapter 24

**I tend to try to wait until the morning to update this story but I just finished this chapter and I don't want to wait because I'm so excited! This chapter is shorter but sweet and I really hope you like it!**

**On a side note, a reader, TNT, asked me to write a story for them. I would normally just PM you, but you do not have an account, so I will write my response here. I am very honored that you like my writing enough to request that of me! However, I do not think it would be possible for me to write it right now- I am so sorry! Unfortunately, I do not have the time. I have work, an original story that I'm currently working on, and when this story is finished, I am considering starting a sequel. That being said, you have my full permission to use my universe for your story, if you would like, and I would be more than willing to proofread and edit your story, if you would like!**

**Back on topic. Here's the story! Enjoy! :)**

Her body was a sore, tired, broken mess of liquid and heat, while her thoughts were an anxious earthquake, rattling her head apart from the inside out.

Astrid wanted so many things- to curl up, to go home, to take a bath, to laugh, to cry, to sleep until the pain went away.

But above all else, she wanted to see her baby.

When the child had been born, the new mother hadn't managed more than a brief look at it before Lindy had rushed it from the room, with a sharp bark for the parents to stay where they were. The glance Astrid had managed to steal had made her heart pound fearfully, echoing in her ears. The baby was a screaming shade of red. It was small and fragile but angry and loud, giving off piercing cries with all of it's might. The child's screams sounded frantic. The crying scared Astrid, made her palms sweat with nervous fear.

Her wide eyes looked past her husband, seeking the healer's assistant at the at end of the bed. "Camille," the girl asked, trying to keep her voice even. "Why is the baby screaming like that? Is something wrong? What's happening?"

The assistant blinked in surprise. Camille had seen dozens of births before- the screams were nothing new to her. "The crying's normal, Astrid. It's nothing to worry about, I promise." A worn smile pulled at he girl's lips. "Think of it like this: Imagine spending months in a warm, damp cave, not knowing any other way of life. And then, suddenly, you're shoved into a cold, gleaming brightness. That's what just happened to the baby. To your child, this world is different and scary and strange, unlike everything it's ever known." Camille gave a breathy laugh. "You'd cry too, right?"

While this was reassuring to hear, the new mother was still not overly pleased- she wanted to see her baby. However, the girl only pursed her lips, content with the information for now. So long as her child was not in pain, Astrid could be patient.

Her husband, however, was far less willing to wait. "Why did Lindy rush off so quickly?" His voice was uncomfortably high, and it was taking all his will to stay seated. "There's nothing wrong, right?"

Camille paused for a moment, considering her reply fully. If she misspoke, she could send these new parents hurtling into a world of unnecessary panic and worry. However, it would be unfair of her to reassure them when the child's state was currently unknown. So, after careful self deliberation, she said, "The odds are high that you're child is going to be just fine. At 36 weeks, a baby is usually developed enough to survive just fine outside the womb. Chances are, it'll be just like any other newborn. However," Camille stopped for a moment, her eyes pensive. She wanted to pick her words carefully. "However," she repeated slowly, "since the baby was technically born prematurely, we want to be sure to take as many precautions as we can to ensure it's health. Lindy's going through a quick series of tests to make sure everything's fine. Though, I doubt there will be any issues."

Hiccup bit his lip and slouched back into his chair, trying to keep himself calm. He gripped his chair hard and listened to the sound of his newborn crying, focusing on the noise to keep him distracted.

As the minutes passed by, the crying faded to a dull whimper, soft like cotton. It continued for a moment, like a soft purr, until eventually it faded away.

And the new father discovered that the silence was worse than the screaming. Why had the crying stopped? Was everything alright? This waiting was killing him, and he was losing the will to sit still for much longer!

Just when Hiccup could stand it no more, Lindy emerged from the side room, her hair a twisted mess but her eyes gleaming bright. In her arms was a tiny child, swaddled in a thick white blanket. The healer moved behind Hiccup and handed the baby to it's mother. Astrid scooped it up and pulled the child in tight, like it was the most precious, delicate treasure she had ever seen. "Congratulations," Lindy said, her voice soft, while Hiccup leaned in towards his wife and child, eyes full of wonder.

"It's a girl."

**Let me know what you think!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Quick shout out: TNT from the chapter before decided to write their story! I recommend it! It can be found here, for those who are interested- s/10564343/1/A-Red-Death-Tragedy-Story**

**On to the story. Enjoy!**

Weighing just barely 5 pounds, their baby girl was the tiniest little human either parent had ever seen. Even at birth their girl had a short mop of curly brown hair, frizzed up and wild, twisting around her ears and eyes. Fingers stretched and curled, even as the baby slept, and tiny yawns escaped her mouth like bubbles from water.

After timeless minutes spent in thoughtless wonder, the father's tentative hand reached over to stroke his baby's cheek. As Hiccup brushed his child's soft skin, the girl gave a gentle whine and his breathe caught in his throat.

"Wow," he said, his voice a faint whisper. "Just... Wow. She's real. I can't believe she's real."

His eyes flickered up to his wife, and he watched as Astrid gazed down at their girl, tears brimming in her eyes and a smile plastered on her face. The mother had no words.

They named her Eira Abigail Haddock.

Her name was powerful and rich in tradition, preparing the girl to carve a path into history. Her first name was a sign of honor to Eir, goddess of healing and mercy, while her middle name had once belonged to Astrid's mother, one of the strongest, fiercest warriors Berk had ever seen.

While the parents had been dumbstruck with their newborn, Camille had snuck from the room. No one had noticed the assistant's departure, but the tired, giddy laugh that came from Valka when Camille led her in signaled her return. The new mother and grandmother locked eyes from across the room, and then their gazes shifted to each other's cradled arms. While Valka's eyes never moved from her infant granddaughter, Astrid's flicked from the Night Fury egg to Valka to her husband and finally back to the egg.

"Oh Gods," the girl groaned, though she was smiling. "Is that what I think it is?" The chieftess's head fell back in exhaustion, but she couldn't hide the laughter escaping from her chest. "Oh Gods," she repeated. "Two babies. Two!"

And so their family grew.

Astrid spent the next few months of her life hardwired, letting the slightest sound of discontent from her baby send her spiraling into a fit of stress. The smallest whimper had her on her toes, and should Eira start to cry, Gods help her, she would move mountains to make the tears stop.

Hiccup was a hair-brained mess from overwork in his new double position as chief and father. The combined weight of his new responsibilities left him sleepless and mindless most days.

But through the worries and the work, the new parents had no complaints. Because seeing their girl learn and grow was the greatest gift the Gods had ever given them.

The first few month, Eira spent most of her time sleeping and eating, curled up tight into her mother's chest for warmth. Astrid would have had it no other way- she was rarely willing to set the girl down, and when she did, she would only let the baby leave her sight if she knew that Hiccup or Valka was holding her.

That time passed in a blur, and soon Eira had seen 3 months of life. Her crying came less frequently and, much to her parents' relief, and she began to favor high pitched giggles instead, warm like fire and bright like the moon. Her eyes, blue and knowing, were awake now, interested and learning, rather than a sleepy blur.

At six months, Eira was a quiet but intelligent child, with a mess of thick brown curls that fell to the length of her shoulders. When her parents or grandmother were in the room, the girl would give a content smile, as if she knew she was safe. She would babble occasionally, in soft gentle bursts, but seemed more intent on exploring than talking. Words were of no priority when there was such a large world to be seen! With swift bursts of energy, the girl would twist off and crawl away to explore the manor without a sound.

This habit was, of course, terrifying. On three separate occasions, both parents had flown into a frantic search to find their child, only to have Toothless carry her into the room with her clothes gripped gently into the room in his teeth. Eira would laugh and laugh as she dangled like a kitten from her father's best friend's mouth, her tiny fists waving in joy. The fourth escape attempt came when Eira was 8 months old, and it had been her farthest adventure yet. Eira had managed to wander outside this time, past the front yard.

Astrid was at her wits ends. Once again she took the chubby cheeked bundle of giggles from Toothless's mouth and collapsed into one of the couches in their main hall. Even as they had just begun to sit, Eira was squirming, trying to wriggle free of her mother's arms.

"Why are you doing this to me, girl?" Astrid muttered, frowning down at the struggling child. "How do you keep getting out? You're driving me crazy!" At the sound of her mother's voice, Eira stopped struggling and turned to look at her. The baby gave a happy coo and reached up to brush her mother's face with a tiny hand. Astrid smiled down at her and gripped her into a hug. She wasn't mad, of course. She could never really be mad at Eira. But sometimes she just got so scared and worried at she didn't know what to do with herself.

"What's the matter?" Hiccup asked as he entered the room. His eyes were blurry from sleep loss, and his face was troubled. In his arms he cradled the Night Fury egg- still unchanged, unhatched. The egg had been another mystery in their lives- it hadn't changed and they didn't know what to do. Toothless was young and male- he had no inherent knowledge on how to care for an egg. Hiccup had been leaving it with other mother dragons, to see if their presence would have an effect, but nothing seemed to work. It remained unchanged- as lifeless as a rock.

However, the weariness in Astrid's eyes told him they had another problem to deal with. "Eira crawled away. Again." Hiccup's shoulder's slumped. "She got outside the house this time."

"What?" A frantic light sparked into his eyes. "How?"

Astrid shook her head slowly. "I don't know. She was in the main hall. The doors were all closed, and I only turned away for a second. And when I turned around, she was gone! I just don't understand how she keeps getting out."

A tired breath escaped the young chief as he collapsed tiredly onto the couch beside his small family. "Odin help us," he said with a tired shrug. "She's certainly a handful."

And as he spoke these words, Eira began to wriggle again, trying to free her self from her mother's arms. "Eira, please," Astrid cooed downward, her voice airy like a breeze through the ocean waves. "Just be still for a few minutes."

"Here," Hiccup said, taking pity on his over-stressed wife. "I can take her."

But as he reached out his arms to grab her, his lap became unstable, and suddenly the egg rocked and wobbled onto the floor, landing with a solid thud.

Both parents stared at it in shock.

Astrid pulled Eira back into her arms, and Hiccup reached down to look at the egg. His chest was heavy and when he picked it up to look at it, his heart sank.

"Gods be damned," he muttered, his voice a lost whisper, edged with quiet despair.

"It's cracked."

**Near the beginning of the story, I had a reader ask me to name the child Abigail, after her close friend who was a huge fan, and then shortly after a reader named Abbey kept writing reviews (the same, infamous friend?!). Regardless, I had already picked Eira as a first name, but didn't have a middle name decided. And Abigail seemed fitting. So here we are!**

**This story is drawing near an end (two or so more chapters, I believe) and when it's finished, I'll probably have a few questions for you guys, so I can get some feedback to improve my writing. **

**But for now: let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	26. Chapter 26

With shaking arms and a frantic heart, Hiccup set the egg on the couch beside his wife and stood. His voice was calm on the surface but it was easy to hear the panic bubbling underneath when he said, "I'm gonna go find my mom. She'll know what to do."

Astrid gave a curt nod and pursed her lips, and as Hiccup ran from the room, she pulled in Eira closer to her chest. The poor little dragon egg. It's mother had entrusted Hiccup, and by extension, her, to protect her baby. And they had broken that trust, cracking it when they had cracked the egg.

What a terrible mother she was.

Astrid couldn't even protect a child when it was inanimate. How was she supposed to keep Eira safe when she started walking? Odin help her, she could barely handle it when the girl just _crawled_ away! And the baby dragon would learn to fly fairly soon after birth. Imagine how far a winged child could stray!

As if to compound on her mother's fears, Eira began to struggle in her arms again, attempting to free herself. Her tiny arms pushed and strained, and though they had no effect on Astrid's grip, the mother sighed and frowned heavily. She didn't want to let Eira go. But Eira didn't understand things like that- she continued to wiggle, and a low whimper came from her throat. "No, don't cry," the mother said as her shoulders fell in defeat. With a soft frown, Astrid compromised. She set the baby into her lap, so that Eira was no longer firmly in her arms, allowing the child more freedom of movement.

This erupted a happy giggle from the baby, and Eira threw her arms up and smiled a gummy grin. Though Astrid was conflicted, her baby's smile warmed her heart. With a gentle poke into Eira's round cheek, she muttered, "We should have called _you_ Toothless, huh?" The girl giggled again, revealing the scattered teeth that had only recently begun to sprout.

Astrid pet the girl's hair down, lovingly pushing the thick curls away from her eyes. The tugging was irritating to the child, though, and with a tiny snort, Eira pushed away from her mother.

No longer cradled in Astrid's arms, the push proved enough to tumble Eira off her mother's lap and onto the couch. "Oh Gods," Astrid chuckled as her baby squirmed on her side for moment, trying to right herself. "What are you doing, silly girl?"

Astrid moved to upright the girl, but when Eira was lifted, the chieftess could see a flicker of interest in her baby's eyes. The gleam of the egg had caught her attention. The shiny scaled sides were pretty, and Astrid could see how they'd be distracting to a child.

Eira reached out for it, fingers stretched and wiggling, and with a sad smile, Astrid set the girl beside the egg. "There's a baby in there," the mother explained, though she doubted the girl would understand. Her voice was soft when she added, "We're hoping it's not hurt."

Eira reached her arm out halfway to the egg, soft and slow, as if she was going to faintly brush the egg. But that changed when, fast as a fire strike, she shot her hand out the rest of the way, smacking the egg with her palm. The resonating thump the egg gave sent her into a fit of giggles.

"Eira! That's mean!" Astrid scowled. She knew the slap couldn't have possibly hurt the egg, but she didn't want her daughter learning that it was alright to hit!

But as Astrid leaned over to scoop her baby girl back into her lap, a resonating thud echoed back from inside the egg.

Frozen in place, Astrid watched as Eira proceeded to smack the egg again, one solid thump followed shortly by two fast ones. Once more, there was a brief moment of silence, before the egg thumped back from inside, repeating the pattern.

Her lips parted loosely as the egg started to rock, the echoing taps coming quickly now, without Eira's prompting. Astrid took the girl into her arms, ignoring the baby's squeak of disapproval, and watched as the thumping stopped and the egg fell still. "Hiccup!" Astrid called, hoping her husband was within earshot. She couldn't just leave the egg to go get him, but she really needed some help. "Hiccup!" she shouted again.

The door swing open and frantic eyes found her. "What's wrong?" the chief asked as he darted into the room, closely followed by his mother.

And he froze when the egg started to shake again.

Astrid pursed her lips. "I think it's hatching," she muttered as the egg began creating tapping sounds again, and the shaking increased.

"Well, what's it doin' on tha couch, then?" Valka snorted as she approached the vibrating egg, picking it up and placing it on the ground. "Ye want it ta rock and fall again?"

And as if to prove the woman right, the instant the egg left the grasp of her fingers, it began to shake harder than before, and the tapping increased in volume, echoing inside and outside the egg. Eira let loose a ticked laugh, and began bouncing and clapping her tiny hands along to the beat of the thumps. Her mother gripped her a little tighter, but her eyes did not leave the egg. Inhaling deep, Astrid watched as the thumping stopped as a gleaming claw pierced through the shell.

Her baby gave a coo and with gripping fingers, Eira reached her chubby arms out towards the shiny new thing. When her mother did not free her to go play with the glistening object, small whimpers escaped her throat. However, they did not last, because the claw quickly retracted, and began thumping again within the egg.

This continued for a time, the family watching silently, except for Eira, who'd coo and whine and wiggle as she pleased. The egg would thump and break through in several locations, repeating the process until a circle had been dug out of the shell.

And with the circle broken away, a slippery, slimy baby Night Fury pushed it's way into the world.


	27. Chapter 27

**All right, guys! Sorry for the wait. I was moving for school and haven't been set up anywhere stable until last night. **

**:P (I spent two nights on my brother's couch this week...ugh...)**

**But I'm home (kinda) now! So onto the story!**

**Here. We. GO!**

A trilling giggle sounded, followed by the clapping of tiny hands as Eira bounced gleefully in her mother's lap. As for Astrid, she was dumbfounded, her eyes wide as she watched a glistening baby dragon lick the gooey membrane from it's scales.

Valka was the only one among them capable of conscious thought, as her instincts from 20 years of dragonhood kicked in. She lifted the newborn, holding it's messy body away from herself like a soggy sack of flour, and carted the baby outside. "Woah, hey, Mom! Where are you going?" Hiccup called, coming back to his senses as the new dragon disappeared from sight. The only reply he received was the complaining chirps of an irritated dragon and the sounds of splashing of water.

Astrid stood, her baby girl balanced on her hip, and headed towards the door. She poked her head outside, a bemused smile on her lips. In the glimmering sunlight, the new dragon was wiggling on it's back. Valka had just finished splashing water from a nearby bucket on it's belly, washing away the remaining membrane. "Ye gotta clean them off when they're born like this," she said without looking up. "If tha egg fails ta explode like a normal egg does, it's a huge mess an' hassle fer tha baby ta get born. But sometimes it has ta be done."

Eira, with one arm clinging to her mother's shirt, reached her free arm out and grabbed in the direction of the baby dragon, giving soft whines when her mother did not walk closer.

"Is that why the egg took so long to hatch? Cause it couldn't explode like it was supposed to?" Hiccup wondered out loud as he stepped into the doorway, standing just behind his wife.

"It's likely," the matron of the family replied, flipping the little dragon over and scooping it up into her arms. "Both tha baby and it's egg were so small, I wouldn't be surprised if it were havin' problems mustering up the strength to hatch. When this happens in tha wild, it's common fer the mother ta drop the egg from tha sky and crack it open that way. Normally that's enough ta break the egg clean through. When tha egg fell from tha couch, it must 'ave been enough ta wake the little feller up, and he cracked through tha rest on his own!" She scratched the tiny Night Fury on the back, prompting a pleased, crackling roar from the baby. "He's a hard workin' little guy! Here," she said, her eyes twinkling as she stood and held the baby out to her son. "Take him. It's a boy."

Hiccup took the baby gingerly, grinning like a mad man as he pulled it in to hold it closer. "Hey little bud," he muttered as he scratched it under the jaw.

But as the dragon grumbled a low, happy purr, Hiccup noticed an unnatural glimmer along it's back, shimmering in the sun. "What is that?" he asked as he began to frown, his heart sinking.

Because even though the baby's scales were firm and black, there was still a transparency to them, and in the right light, he could see shiny silver running through the infant's veins.

"Oh no," Hiccup breathed.

Astrid leaned over, glancing down at the dragon in her husband's arms. "What? What's wrong?"

"It's veins are silver, like it's mother's were."

Astrid's lips parted slowly, a sadness pressing on her chest. After a shocked moment, she muttered, "He's sick? Is there anything we can do?"

Her husband did not answer. When her son sat silent, Valka gave a hesitant reply. "There's a chance he'll be a very sickly child, but his scales seem firm and his wings are fully formed. Hopefully, he'll get by just fine." With a sad shrug, the woman added, "besides, there's nothing we can do fer him now."

"That's so sad," Astird whispered, taking a step closer. With the two babies now so close together, Eira was able to reach a grubby little arm out, clenching it around the fin on the baby Night Fury's head. Astrid smiled softly at the two and examined the dragon for herself. "It's like his veins are ice." She nodded her head and muttered, "Frozen blood."

"Kala blód," Hiccup repeated. He pursed his lips for a moment, thoughtful, before nodding. "It's almost beautiful." He smiled, though it did not wipe away the sadness from his eyes. "That's what we'll call him- frozen blood. Kalablód." He looked up at his wife and mother. "What do you think?"

Astrid took a step back, separating the babies, which caused Eira to give out a very displeased squeak. "It fits," she agreed. "And it sounds strong. Any Viking or dragon should be proud to bare such a name."

"That settles it, then." Valka said, giving a pleased nodded. "Let's take him inside, and let the little fella rest. It's been a rough day fer him."

And so they took baby Kal into their manor and set him to bed in Eira's cradle, since they had no where else prepared for the baby to rest. It took mere seconds for Kal to curl up tight and drift off into a world of dreams.

With the newborn sleeping soundly, the adults emerged into the manor's dining hall. Though their hearts were heavy, there were matters they needed to discuss.

Valka, who had lovingly stolen her granddaughter away from Astrid, sat down in one of the large chairs at the end of the hall. She leaned back into it, content but worried, and pulled a gentle hand through Eira's brown twisting curls. "What do ye two plan ta do about poor Kal?" she asked. Valka wasted no time dancing around the issue. She saw no need to.

Her son nodded, thankful for his mother's straightforwardness. He sat himself in the chair beside her, pushing away his work documents and the village laws so he had a place to rest his hands on the table. "What can we do?" His shoulders fell as he exhaled a tired breath. "If Kal's dying, we don't know of any way to help him."

"But he could be fine." Astrid spoke, her voice gentle. Hiccup gave his wife a curious look, his eyebrow raised in disbelief. She shrugged and sat beside him, continuing. "I'm just saying it's a possibility. He survived all that time in the egg. Maybe his body's beaten the disease, and the coloration is just an aftermath." There was hope in her eyes, but her voice was weak when she added, "I'm just trying to be positive."

"Ye might be right, dear." Valka saw no need to assume the worst. In her lap, Eira began to wiggle, her tiny arms once again outstretched, though this time they were towards a doll laying in the corner of the room. Valka snorted and, with a smile, set the girl down, watching the baby crawl her way over to the toy. Eira took it into her hands and began flailing it about, tossing it up in the air haphazardly. While watching the child, Valka continued, "We have no way of knowin' that Kal's not well."

Hiccup's brow furrowed. "The silver veins are a telltale sign of the disease, though!" His mother glanced at him, a light frown on her face. Hiccup grimaced and conceded. "Granted, it doesn't seem as profound as it was with the others, but we don't know that it won't get worse!"

"You said it was caused by the water in the cave, right?" Astrid had heard all about her husband's adventure, once she'd gotten home from the healer's with Eira. "Without the water around, maybe he'll get better?"

"But maybe he won't." Hiccup's voice was low, and his eyes were cast down.

Valka shrugged. "One way or another, there's nothin' we can do fer him. We'll just have to wait and see."

A tired groan escaped the chief. As a boy with little more than 20 years, Hiccup had the stress of a man twice his age. "I know," he agreed softly, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. "You're right, Mom. I just worry sometimes."

"It's alright, boy." Valka gave her son a smile and a nod.

Astrid, however, had reasons of her own to be worried.

"Where's Eira?"

The blonde's eyes were burning a hole into the spot where her daughter had been, just moments ago. Now all that remained was a one-armed doll. Had the little girl really gotten away so fast?!

"Eira!" she called, pushing herself from her chair. "Toothless?!" Astrid called for the dragon- he'd always been able to find the girl before. But when the Night Fury did not come, she began a frantic search.

Still rubbing his eyes, Hiccup exhaled hard and stood. With tired steps, he and his mother joined the search.

"She's not in the kitchen!" Astrid called from the room next door.

Her husband nodded. "Alright, I'll check the workshop." With a little more speed in his steps, Hiccup headed over to the next room.

Astrid nodded, and replied, "I'll check the bedroom!"

"And I can look in tha guest rooms!" Was Valka.

Hiccup did not give an answer, but rather began searching the work space for any signs of his missing daughter. The longer he searched, the more worried he felt himself becoming. Eira had a habit of getting into things she shouldn't! Each sword he passed was a lethal toy, every hammer a game of death. Each time Hiccup stuck his head under a bench or into a shelf, his heart skipped a beat when his daughter was not there. Eventually, the boy had become a shaken mess.

He emerged from the workshop, his heart beating hard, and noticed Astrid standing still as stone at the entrance to their bedroom.

"Astrid," Hiccup called as he approached, tension ringing in his voice. "What's wrong?"

But when he reached her, the boy saw what had stilled his wife.

In the cradle beside their bed laid two sleeping babies, curled up tight into eachother. Eira's head was on Kal's rising chest like a pillow, her mouth open slightly as deep, gentle breathes pushed passed her parted lips. Around her leg, the baby Night Fury had wrapped its tail, coiling it tight to keep the little girl close. In Eira's hand was the missing arm of her doll.

A long deep breath escaped Hiccup as all his stress escaped him.

With an airy chuckle, he whispered, "How in Odin's name did she get into that cradle by herself?"

"We're going to make this work." Hiccup startled at his wife's unexpected reply. Astrid looked towards him, determination in her eyes. "No matter what, we are going to make this work. For Eira and for Kal. I refuse to let either one of them down."

"Of course." Hiccup looked back towards the babies. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

With a soft coo, Eira snuggled up closer to Kal's side, and even in the darkness of sleep, she knew she was safe.

Hiccup smiled at the sight, feeling calm for the first time all day.

"We'll do anything and everything for them. They're our children."

**In case you guys hadn't figured it out (I'm hoping it was clear!) kala is freeze and blód is blood in Norse.**

**Also, this is the last chapter, though an epilogue will follow (soon, if my living situation stays permanent for a few days lol).**

**But for now, let me know what you think!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Here it is- the epilogue! This story has finally come to a close. I hope you've liked reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it!**

The lingering scent of fresh rainfall clung to the earth, misting in the air through the grass and the trees. The rain from the previous night had left the ground damp and muddied, and the breeze that followed the storm was as soft as a kiss upon her cheek. The wet dirt deepened around her knees as they pressed softly into the ground, and her hands danced in and out of the wildflowers, weaving among the blades of grass with a practiced ease.

She found she preferred her days like this, calm and alone, away from the ruckus of the village. Eira had never much cared for the words and problems of other people. Even at an age as young as eleven years old, the girl chose to spend her days in peaceful solitude.

Everyone always expected something from her. Eira frowned hard as she plucked a small white blossom from the brush and wove it into the chain of flowers she was making. She could never make everyone happy. They wanted her to make friends, to learn how to fight, to study politics, to be a leader. Their obligations wore on her. All the girl really wanted was to be alone.

Well, not entirely alone.

There was one person who never expected anything of her. Her little brother, Kalablód. Just the thought of the Night Fury made her smile. All he ever wanted to do was explore and sleep. That was a lifestyle she could support! No learning, no classes, no social interactions! How perfect that must be, to just wander, free of any concerns!

A dissatisfied feeling lingered in Eira's gut, but when she looked down at her hands, she saw that there were more than enough flowers woven together to make into a brightly colored crown. With a tired sigh, she connected the two ends into a loop and stood. It was getting late, and she should be headed back to the village. People would begin to worry if she stayed away much longer.

The young girl trotted steadily towards home, her resounding footstep following the steady beating of her heart. Her mud-stained blue dress billowed in the wind, clinging to her small frame like a wet cobweb. Her shape came from her father, thin and lanky. Just by looking at the girl, her heritage was clear. The messy brown curls, scattered freckles, and awkward figure proved her to be Hiccup's.

But she was Astrid's child too, and her fast mind and faster feet came from her mother. Though she was easily a mile from home, she reached the village in six and a half minutes with no trouble at all. She felt as though she could run for days.

Eira darted into the town, heading up the worn path behind Gobber's blacksmith hut. Peaking around the corner, the girl glanced around at her surroundings. The person sitting on the bench just outside the smith caught her eye, and a twitch of a smile pulled at Eira's lips.

"Amma!" Valka's head tilted upward, and a smile pulled across her face as well when she saw her granddaughter approach. "Grandma!" Eira called again she she pulled herself onto the bench beside her. "I made this for you." With outstretched hands, the young viking offered her day's work.

The older woman smiled and took the crown with gentle hands. It was the fourth one the girl had given her this month, and even so , she cherished it as if it were spun from gold. Her eyes glimmered in the light of the setting sun, and with careful fingers Valka placed the crown upon her now greying hair. "Thank ye, little love. It's beautiful."

Eira smiled contently and leaned into her grandmother's side. "Amma, what was it like to live with the dragons?"

Valka's eyebrows furrowed, and a slight frown pulled at her lips. Her granddaughter had heard about her years away, of course. They were no secret. But she'd never shown any interest in them before. "Why are ye asking, love?"

Eira turned her face away and shrugged. "I dunno." The girl wrinkled her nose. "I was just thinking that it must be nice to be a dragon. They're easy to understand. They don't have to do things they don't want to do, or learn things they don't care about. It's easier. People are hard to understand sometimes. They say one thing and mean another." The girl shrugged again. "I dunno," she repeated. "Sometimes I wish I was a dragon, like Kal. Dragons make sense."

"Oh, aye, I can understand that," the woman said with a short chuckle. Eira looked up at her grandmother, a small grin on her face. "I used ta feel tha same way, years ago."

"But you don't anymore?" Valka shook her head, and Eira scoffed. "What changed your mind?"

Valka laughed again, though this time it was more than a mere chuckle. "Why, ye did, girl!"

"Amma," Eura groaned, rolling her eyes.

"I mean it, really!" When Eira didn't reply, Valka continued. "The dragons are wonderful, they are, but when I came back home, I realized how much I had missed, not seein' yer father grownin' up. But I still didn't really understand humans. Not until ye were born." Valka poked the girl gently on the nose, causing Eira to squirm away with a snort. "Ye were the one thing the dragons could never give me." Valka looked down at the girl and wrapped a tight arm around her. "Ye gave me another try at a family."

Eira rested her head against her grandmother's arm and hummed lightly, considering what the woman had said. And she knew her amma to be right, in the pit of her heart. Everything she had to do, it was for her family. Her mother wanted her to learn to fight so she could protect herself, and her father wanted her to understand politics between the tribes so she would not be taken advantage in the future. All of the pressure they placed upon her was done for her own good.

Still didn't mean she liked it any.

But she did love her family. And if these issues mattered to them, then they mattered to her too.

Eira pushed away from Valka, sliding herself off of the bench. "Thanks, Amma. I think I get it. I'm going to go look for Kal. I haven't played with him in a while."

As the girl ran off toward the setting sun, Valka watched her silhouette fade into the horizon and murmured, "No, girl. Thank ye. Fer helping me ta finally understand my purpose here."

Kal was not too hard to find, curled up in a big ball of silver veins and scales at the back of her father's workshop. A rumbling snore escaped his snout as Eira approached him, leaning against his side. "Get up, you lazy bum."

Kal blinked open an eye and gave a snort. A chuckle escaped the girl, but she tried to hide it by rolling her eyes. "Uh-huh, sure you are," she uttered, trying to sound annoyed. "You don't look very sick to me. You seem fine. You just like to sleep."

The Night Fury squirmed, swatting Eira away with a gentle push of his claw, and stretched out onto his back. His underside was a web of icy veins, spiraling and wrapping around his body, though the branching lines were not as visible on his back as they were on his stomach. "Get up," Eira whined, flopping herself down into his tummy. "Play with me."

Kal grumbled and rolled over, flipping his older sister off of him. With a moody puff of smoke, he pulled his front leg around his head, covering his eyes.

With a huff, Eira plopped herself down onto the ground, sending sprites of dust flying. "You haven't been sick since you were a baby. You're just lazy."

And it was true- Kal had slept through much of his first few months, fighting off the icy death running in his blood. But once he'd conquered the first half a year of life, he'd been as healthy as any normal dragon, if only a little bit smaller.

Eira was right, of course. He didn't need to sleep right now if he didn't want to. But Kal, like any respectable dragon, was not one to be bossed around. Especially not by his tiny older sister.

So when Eira climbed upon his tail and started smacking him with her palm, he calmly shook her off.

But he was not expecting to flick his tail so hard, and the edge of it whipped against Hiccup's dresser. The ruffle of papers and a heavy bang resounded in the dragon's ears. His eyes shot open, worry causing his heart to beat harder. Had he hurt his sister? He'd never meant to do that!

But when he whipped his head around, he saw Eira was just irritated, not injured. She was covered in a thick lining of dust that had gone flying from the worn dresser, and a heavy scowl rested upon her face.

A low snort of laughter escaped the younger brother as Eira brushed herself clean. "You're so mean," she mumbled as she began picking up the loose paper. But then, a glint of shiny black caught her eyes.

The clang from before had come from a falling rider's helmet. It was a dark black of gleaming polished leather, though it was filthy now. Eira picked it up gently and rubbed the filth from it.

Beneath the dirt, she could see a bright red skull insignia.

"This used to be Dad's?" Eira placed the helmet on the desk and looked at the crumpled paper in her hands. She placed it smoothly in the table, unfolding the wrinkles until it was smooth and legible.

"It's a map," she muttered with wonder. She felt her brother's hot breathe on her back as he stood to look over her shoulder. "But it's not finished." Eira ran a soft finger across the unwritten edges of the page. "I wonder why he never finished it."

"What do you think, buddy? Wanna finished it?" A grin stretched on her face.

A glint of excitement sparked in Eira's chest, and when her eyes met Kal's, she knew he was thinking the same thing. After all, the both loved to explore.

"Let's go on an adventure!"

**And that's it. It's finished. It's done. **

**Wow, that's so weird to say.**

**In a couple of days, I'll probably post a few questions in a separate "chapter" at the end of this story, asking about what you want in a sequel and what you thought of my writing in general. You don't have to answer them, of course, but I'd really appreciate if you could give me feedback on my writing, since I hope to publish something original some day, and I want to write as best as I can. :)**

**With all of that said, I suppose there's nothing left for me to add except thanks so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought! :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Okay, this chapter is just a quick survey post. If you'd like to answer these questions, I'd appreciate it, so I can improve for future stories. If you don't want to, that's of course fine too :)**

**1) How was the pacing? This is one of my biggest concerns. If you read it as each chapter was released, did it seem too slow, since you had the time gap of a few days in between? Or, if you read it all at once, was it too fast, since you didn't have that time between chapters to contemplate things? I tried to find a happy medium for this, but I'd appreciate your input.**

**2) How was the style of writing? Anything seem too repetitive? Was I too straight forward? Not straight forward enough? Too descriptive? Not descriptive enough? **

**3) Were any of the characters' personalities off? I worry that I made Astrid too soft :/**

**4) Are you excited for the sequel? **

**If you answered yes to question 4, it can be found at the link below. ;)**

** s/10622047/1/Explorative**

**Again, thank you so much for your time! :)**


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